Lucem Sequimur
by MementoMori115
Summary: "We fight, we drink blood, we revive, and then we fight some more. It is a vicious cycle by which we are bound. If you stop fighting, you die. If you stop drinking, you suffer a fate even worse. But even in the Darkness that is our existence, there is still a glimmer of light that pushes me on; the future that she gave us. Lucem Sequimur; We follow the Light."
1. Chapter 1

"Man, you won't believe how long Author-san has been waiting to write this thing. He's been chomping at the bit ever since Code Vein was first announced. By the way, this is slight AU, but it's easy enough to follow."

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_My name is Grey. At least, that's what I think it is. My memories from the war are blurry at best, and anything prior to it is non-existent. I can't even remember if I was conscripted, applied, or if I was just another corpse they brought back to help fill the ranks. Not that any of it really matters at the end of the day. Regardless of how I got to this point in my life -if it can even be called that anymore- I am still myself. My past be damned, I was mostly content to fight on and do what I thought was right. And even if the person I used to be no longer exists, I resolved myself to cast away any doubts I might have held._

_But there is still one thing that I vividly remember from the war. The unfortunate girl whose life I so mercilessly stole from her, and the promise I made to her as she died in my arms..._

_A promise I failed to uphold..._

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"Yo! Grey!"

The young man began to stir from his slumber upon hearing his name being called, along with someone jabbing him in the ribs with their boot.

"Kuh!"

Pale red eyes squinted open as the man was greeted by the sight of a smirking face. The same face that belonged to the person currently administering his rude awakening. He ran his gloved hand through his hair and brushed the few strands out of his vision. Even with the glove he was wearing, he could feel how dirty his hair was from the resistance it put up. It had been about a week since the last time he was able to wash up, and now his light-brown hair was clumping up despite its relatively short length.

"Geez Yakumo... Do you have to be so painful in waking me up?"

His crimson-haired friend snorted in amusement. "Only when you sleep in. I've been at this for a good five minutes now." the man answered cheekily. "Time to switch. You're on watch now."

Grey stifled a yawn before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "And I was having such a nice dream too." the man remarked dryly. "You finally threw out your voice and managed to shut up for once."

"Hmph, jackass." Yakumo responded with a grin before kicking Grey in the side again. "C'mon. I want to get my share of sleep already."

Slowly sitting up, Grey rubbed the back of his neck to work out the kinks in it. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."

As Yakumo removed his jacket and climbed into their shared tent, Grey threw his own coat on and stepped out and into the chilly night air. Even though revenants aren't as susceptible to colder temperatures as humans are, and there are also those who possess Gifts that can rectify such problems, Grey enjoyed the cozy feeling he got when lounging near a fire. He took a knee next to the pit and began prodding at the smoldering branches with a larger stick. By allowing more oxygen to flow in as a result of his probing, the fire regained some strength. A few more twigs were tossed on for good measure, and the blaze reached a respectable size just as Yakumo's snoring could be heard emanating from the tent.

"Note to self; procure new earplugs asap." Grey remarked as he sat down on a log that the group was using for a makeshift couch.

He remained still in the silence of the night, the only noise to accompany him being the crackling of the fire. The flames continued to dance in his view as he became lost in thought. It had been roughly two weeks since he and his friends had departed from the Crimson City -formerly known as the Gaol of the Mist- and began their travel across the land in search of any signs of civilization. The entire first week was spent slinking through the region referred to as the Dead-Lands, a hellscape devoid of any forms of life aside from the Horrors that roamed the land. But they persevered and managed to travel beyond that dangerous territory while keeping contact with the Horrors to a minimum. They held no doubts about the possibility of survivors living in a place with such a serious threat of Horrors wandering around, so the group was more than eager to keep their momentum going. And as they made further progress away from the Dead-Lands, life began to return to the environment.

Grass had taken root in fertile ground, birds and other small animals would occasionally enter their peripherals, and the air became clean enough for them to remove their masks. Reaching the forest for the first time was an enjoyable experience, as no such biome existed within the land they called home. The vibrant greens of the trees were more than enough to brighten their spirits, finally giving them a sense of actual progress. When they eventually encountered their first river, Murasame had dropped all her gear and stripped down to her underwear before throwing herself into the refreshing liquid. They were lucky enough to have had a hot spring directly next to their home base back in the city, but most other water sources were either heavily contaminated, or they needed to be carefully rationed for the surviving humans. So when they spotted the river, Murasame let loose her inner-child and took advantage of the opportunity. Not that she was the only one to do so.

But as they continued their trek across the land, they noticed something curious. The Horrors were getting progressively smaller and weaker by comparison. They were still eager to attack on sight, but their appearances were gradually changing. Not that any of them were complaining, as it was a much welcomed respite from the usual dangers they faced. The beasts were also a reliable source of ichor, some providing even more than the Lost.

Grey could feel his thirst slowly creeping up on him, and reached into his bag to grab a blood bead. Pulling out the tear-shaped object, he was momentarily lost in thought as he gazed at the crimson liquid. When the Queen was first slain, Karen essentially sacrificed her life in order to seal away one of the more powerful Relics that remained. And by becoming the Successor of the Heart, she was able to manifest her Crypt as a tree of blood with roots that spread throughout the Gaol. It was only because of her sacrifice that revenants were able to survive as long as they have. The roots would emerge from the ground as mistle and eventually bore precious blood beads, the lifeline of the populace. And yet her duty was not meant to last eternal.

Through the machinations of Mido, the lives of everyone within the Gaol were thrown into great peril. A peril that Grey was more than willing to sacrifice his life for in order to prevent it. He was to slay Silva, obtain his Relic, and inherit the responsibility of maintaining the veil that protected the city. His life in exchange for everyone within the Gaol. And maybe, by doing so, he would finally fulfill his promise to Cruz. However such an outcome was not meant to be.

Every Successor had a reason for why they willingly sacrificed themselves to spend the rest of their days in unimaginable agony until they were warped both in body and mind by the power they were tasked with sealing. Nicola offered up his life in order to create a safer world for his sister, Emily gave herself over in order to shield Yakumo, and Karen cast aside her future in order to ensure the survival of all revenants. The Successors were content with their sacrifices so long as doing so was enough to protect those they cared about. But that didn't mean those who were left behind were happy with the situation.

Love is an unpredictable emotion. Whereas anger makes us do rash things, and sadness makes us do desperate things, love makes us do irrational things. Emily wanted to protect Yakumo from Mido, but Yakumo just wound up going after the madman to make him pay for forcing a Relic upon her. Karen wanted to protect those who she held dear in her heart, yet Aurora became a Successor in order to build a fortress with her Crypt to protect Karen at the center. As for Grey, the one person he wanted to protect the most chose to take his place as the keystone to keep the city safe.

Io gave her life to seal away all of the Relics inside of her. With the power she possessed, she transformed her body into the Weeping Tree, and became the true savior of the Gaol. The remainder of the surviving Successors were returned to their original forms, and Io inherited the duty of both providing blood beads and maintaining the barrier that protected the city from Karen and Silva respectively. So even now she was still hard at work protecting them all and providing a steady supply of blood beads.

The girl who was always at his side, that he swore above all else to keep safe, had taken it upon herself to save him at the cost of her own life.

Grey blinked away the tear that was threatening to form in his eye. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He bit down on the blood beads 'stem' and began sipping out the contents. It is hard to describe just what the liquid tastes like, as it seems to differ from person to person. Regardless, it is still the only thing aside from human blood that can truly slake a revenants thirst, and that was enough for anyone to enjoy the taste. But even so, just knowing who had given their life in exchange for them was enough to sap any potential satisfaction Grey could muster.

Dropping the now empty vessel onto the ground, the young man looked up at the night sky, and the shattered moon that hovered there. It was still a few hours before sunrise, and the broken sphere would serve as his only company until then.

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Sitting at his desk atop the tallest spire in Beacon was a man. To most he was simply the Headmaster of Vale's most prestigious academy for training future Huntsmen and Huntresses. But to a select few, he was the wizard from a legend that most thought to be little more than myth. Cursed with his pseudo-immortality, he has seen more than his fair share of death and ruin during his existence. However for all that he witnessed alongside former friend and family, there is still one tragedy that only he was privy to. Well, him and _her_...

Many believe that Remnant has only ever had the four Kingdoms; Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas. But in reality there was a fifth. A Kingdom that was erased from the world to the point that even its name was lost. It was the first time since the beginning of the entire mess that Ozpin is part of, that the Brothers actively intervened with the world. And their intentions at the time were most definitely filled with malice. To this day Ozpin has yet to find out why they brought ruin to not just any Kingdom, but the largest and most prosperous of them all. Although there would be no way of knowing the exact numbers, Ozpin had to estimate that roughly one-third of the worlds population was lost when the Kingdom fell, which just goes to show how important of a bastion it was for humans and faunas. Ozpin was actually living in that Kingdom at the time, his identity back then being Oswald, a student who was enrolled at the Huntsman Academy, which was run by Headmaster Gregorio Silva. So it came as great surprise to him when one day, without absolutely no prior warning the earth cracked open, and Grimm the likes of which had never been seen before began pouring out across the land and absolutely decimated the Kingdoms forces. These monstrous Grimm quickly came to be known as Horrors, for that is all one would feel in their presence.

Ozpin needed to know why such an unprecedented attack was taking place, but it appeared that the Brothers had other plans. A massive Horror erupted from beneath the Academy, and quickly tracked him down and killed him. He did his best to cling to life as long as he could, but he only lasted until he witnessed Gregorio decapitate the horrid creature. After that, his 'reincarnation' took somewhat longer than usual. And by somewhat, he meant a little over twenty years. Once he was back, he immediately began research into what happened to the Kingdom, as it seemed that something in the city had earned the Brothers absolute ire. But it came as great surprise for him to find out that not only was the Kingdom gone, but nobody remembered that it even existed. No reports of distress signals emanating from the area, no records of commerce of any sort, gone were any books or other data forms pertaining to the Kingdom, the entirety of the Kingdom and anything that had to do with it was erased from the world. Now the location was known as the Blood Scar, a region so dangerous that it was deemed forbidden to even approach. Still, that wasn't enough to stop Ozpin from snooping. Not that it did him any good though.

The land surrounding the former Kingdom was barren of life and instilled a sense of dread just by traversing it. Horrors regularly patrolled the area, and fortunately seemed content to remain there. It wasn't until Ozpin finally reached the city limits that he realized why the land was aptly named the Blood Scar. A massive crimson barrier that was comprised of an unknown energy was keeping the Kingdom sealed away. The barrier was a prison and the Horrors were now its guards. None could go in, and none could come out.

It was with many reservations that Ozpin relented from further investigations, as they would end up being a waste of time, resources, and life. Besides, he was the only one left who knew the truth, so it was unlikely he would have been able to gather any support. So all the cursed-man could settle for was keeping an eye on the area in case the Horrors made a move. And it just so happened that unusual activity was recently reported in the area. For a short duration, the Horrors on the outer edge of the land had retreated further in, almost as if something had garnered their attention.

'_Perhaps the barrier has finally fallen...' _Ozpin thought solemnly as he looked out over the horizon. Even if the barrier was gone, the Horrors were still a serious threat that remained. Any survivors were likely killed off by the beasts, and Ozpin wasn't keen on sacrificing any of the pieces he still had on the board just to satisfy his curiosity. That, and the timing was not very ideal. The Vytal festival is just around the corner, and now James has practically invaded Vale with his troops.

"Something big is coming. I can feel it in the air..."

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"Are we certain that there are humans out here still? 'Cause the only infrastructure we've come across is a bunch of old ruins. Maybe the Gaol really was the last bastion for survivors."

"Yakumo, what would you call what we're walking on?"

"It's a dirt path. Your point?"

"Dirt paths don't just make themselves. There has obviously been foot traffic going through here."

"Could just be a bunch of animals passing through. An old road that got overgrown by nature and this is all that's left."

Grey shook his head in slight annoyance. "Are they really bickering over this?"

Louis gave a shrug from his position next to Grey. "It would seem so."

"You'd think they would stop at some point."

"They're just bored." Murasame piped up from behind the two men. "Guess they figured arguing would be a good way to pass the time."

"I fail to see how they would come to that conclusion."

"Well you're our groups resident genius. Feel like giving them a lecture on roads?" Grey remarked as he ducked under a low-hanging branch.

"Unfortunately my majors weren't in construction. So I doubt I'd be of much help."

Murasame nodded in agreement. "True. But they are correct about one thing."

"Yeah, we still haven't seen any proper signs of civilization." the former Successor spoke in resignation. "Even finding a bottle-cap in the dirt would be worth celebrating over at this point."

"You think Coco would be willing to buy it off you?"

"Don't think so. She needs to make a profit somehow, and I don't see how a bottle-cap would be of any value."

Louis chuckled softly beneath his mask. "That would be a ridiculous idea though."

"What would?"

"If we somehow get to a point where we start using bottle-caps as currency."

"Sounds like something out of a crappy post-apocalypse story."

"Now hold on Grey. I think it might work and even be a little charming for the first few books of the series,"

Grey turned to give Louis a deadpan look.

"but the author would probably screw it up somehow by the sixth installation."

"Kind of like one of those stupid games where you spend one type of currency just to get another type to use with a specific vendor." the orange-haired girl added.

"I'd hate to be the sucker who got involved with that mess."

"We say these things, yet we ourselves use haze and crystals to barter with."

"This conversation is weird. Can we change subjects?"

"Please do." answered Grey. "I can feel my head hurting already from this nonsense."

Before anyone could speak further, they heard a faint 'bang' in the distance. Soon followed by the sight of numerous birds taking off.

"Heh, if that isn't a sign of human activity then I don't know what is."

"YES! Finally we have some progress!" Yakumo cheered as he hefted his sword over his shoulder.

"Weren't you the one who was just saying otherwise?"

"Let it go Louis, that's a losing battle you're about to start." Grey remarked as he took the lead. "Let's pick up the pace! That could be trouble up ahead."

Almost as if on cue, several more gunshots went off in the same direction.

"That's confirmation on my trouble theory."

Grey quickly cast a Gift to enhance mobility and the group of five took off at inhuman speeds.

"Mia, Yakumo, when we get there, I want you two to defend anyone who's in trouble. Murasame, you stick with them. Louis and I will be the vanguard."

"Whatever you say boss-man!" the red-haired man replied as he adjusted his mask.

Soon enough they managed to break through the treeline and enter a large clearing with a pond in the center. Shifting their heads towards the source of the noise, they spotted a several humans who were in the middle of combating the smaller Horrors. One of them was on the ground with an injury while the rest were trying to hold off the beasts in the hopes of retreating.

"Go!"

Rushing at the nearest monster, Grey swung his arm out and launched several blood projectiles into its back. As the Horror began to topple over, Grey and Louis leapt over its already dissolving body and descended upon the enemy. Unclipping his weapon from his back, Grey bisected one of the wolf-like Horrors as he drew the blade. His primary weapon of choice was the Memento, a blade he had custom-made with Murasame's help. It had a resemblance to a standard katana, but with a slightly wider blade that had a seam down the center. Due to an as of yet unidentified anomaly in his blood, Grey has always possessed a superb control of blood related Gifts, which is why Memento was built with that in mind. By squeezing a trigger below the guard, the blade splits into two segments, allowing for him to channel his blood down the length of the weapon to alter its capabilities.

Louis was quick to join the fray, his body turning to mist as he rushed forward. His target hadn't expected their claws to pass right through the scholar, but such errant thoughts were pointless as the man buried his blade into the creatures heart. One of the larger Horrors charged at him from the side, only for its movement to be halted by several ichor bullets that punched fist-sized holes through their chest. Mia had already taken up position near the group of humans and began providing covering fire. Louis gave a nod of appreciation before lunging towards his next target.

One of the craftier beasts managed to circle around and flank their position, and one of the humans brought up his arms to brace for the imminent attack. But before the creature struck, a faint red barrier formed around the man, and the Horrors claw bounced off harmlessly. Not wasting the opportunity that was presented, another man stabbed the beast in the chest with his weapon. Tenacious was the beast, as it still clung to life and backhanded the man across the face. As he tumbled down, Yakumo took his place and countered. The Onislayer cleaved the creature in half with little effort.

A sudden surge of heat assaulted the group as Grey unleashed one of his more powerful flame-based Gifts on the enemy. The mob of Horrors were scattered apart, many of them still burning as they flailed about in panic. By now the humans had gained their second wind, and concentrated on mopping up the survivors with small-arms fire. A handful of the beasts managed to retreat back into the forest, but were unlikely to return.

Activating a sensory Gift, Grey was able to confirm that the enemy had fled.

"We're clear."

"Yet another impressive display of skill." Louis opined as he sheathed his blade.

"You guys were awesome as always!" cheered Murasame.

Humming in approval, Yakumo hefted his sword over his shoulder before addressing one of the humans. "You guys okay?"

Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, one of the men nodded. "Thanks to you guys we are." he answered before turning his attention to the injured member of the group. "How's the leg Tanner?"

The man groaned slightly as he continued applying pressure to the wound. "Hurts like a bitch... But it sure beats dying."

"Olive, get the bandages. We need to dress that wound and get moving back to camp."

"You guys need any help heading back?" asked Mia. "No telling when those beasts plan on returning."

The man who was evidently the groups leader looked a little conflicted for some reason. "Don't worry. We wouldn't want to put you in harms way."

"The only ones in harms way are those uglies when their on the end of my blade." remarked Yakumo. "It's not a problem for us to give you a little escort. Besides, we're kind of lost as it is."

"Well... I guess..." the leader seemed to be fumbling for the right answer.

Another member of the group pulled him away for a second and began whispering harshly to him. Unfortunately for them, they were unaware of the revenants heightened senses being able to hear them.

"What do you think you're doing? You know we can't bring back outsiders."

"Listen, they saved our asses just now. It's the least we can do."

"I get it. But it goes against-"

"I know it goes against the law! Still, I ain't abandoning these guys in this damn forest, especially after they helped us."

"You know she'll be pissed about this."

"I already figured that much out. I'll just take the heat and hope for the best."

"You better start praying that she's in a good mood."

Yakumo whistled to grab their attention, pretending as if he hadn't heard their whole exchange. "You wanna fill us in on something?"

The leader waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing important. Once we get Tanner back on his feet, we'll get going."

'_I wonder how this'll turn out...' _Grey thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Author-san finally managed to get out chapter 2!

... God this guy likes to drag his feet. For those among you who are more perceptive, you might be able to figure out the direction he plans on going in order to connect these two series together more cohesively. But don't go blabbing about it in a review. Just scream your head off at your family as you try to explain to them how they 'just don't understand'."

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Among the many revenants who inhabit the Gaol of the Mists, it is an almost unanimous decision among the general masses that the strongest warrior is without a doubt Gregorio Silva. He was always described as being a pillar of strength on the battlefield, and could shrug off attacks as if they were thrown pebbles while effortlessly swinging whatever giant tool happened to be his weapon at the time (he was even once seen batting away Lost with a telephone pole!). But aside from being one of the Gaol's strongest, he is also the head of the provisional government and military force known collectively as Cerberus. It was an organization he founded during the aftermath of the Great Collapse when the city was in chaos. The three heads of the mythical beast each represented a different branch of the group, and each was headed by a different individual.

The science department, which is in charge of all R&D projects, as well as procurement of potential revenants and finding suitable Successors for the Relics of the Queen, was lead by Juzo Mido, but the position has since been filled by Karen and Aurora. The military department is responsible for the day-to-day security of the Gaol, along with enforcing the law and protecting the remaining humans. With its prior leader having fallen to the Lost, it is now overseen by former Crypt Watcher Jack Rutherford, and his partner Eva Roux. And the final branch of Cerberus, the provisional government, is led by Gregorio himself. He has made it his mission to ensure the survival of everyone in the Gaol, or at least however many he can save. It is him who is responsible for all mandates and laws that are used to keep the city in a somewhat manageable state. And owing to his strength, as well as his high compatibility rating with the Relics due to him being Cruz's father, he was able to both maintain the Blood Barrier protecting the city, while still managing to remain lucid in order to continue running his organization. Though this confined him to his throne deep beneath the provisional government HQ.

Through it all, it was Gregorio who always made the tough decisions that kept the city running as best he could. Surviving humans were to be placed under Cerberus protection, where they would provide a tithe of their own blood to help offset the growing scarcity of blood beads, while harboring humans for ones own personal gain was considered a crime and would be punished accordingly. The levy was later enacted as the miasma continued to spread and further threaten the revenant population. With every passing day, Gregorio was forced to tighten his grip on the populace in order to prevent the spread of anarchy.

However such concerns had now lessened considerably with the birth of the Weeping Tree. Gregorio was quite disheartened that he wouldn't be able to properly show his gratitude to the girl who relinquished her body in order to assimilate with the Relics and became the tree that now sustains them perpetually. What he could do though, is make use of the opportunity that she provided, as the toxic miasma that once blanketed the city has been reduced considerably due to the now constant growth of mistle. This made putting down the Lost an easier endeavor, allowing for proper patrol routes to be formed so that the outlying settlements had quick access to various locations in the event that the mistle were unavailable for use.

Still, this is only the first part of his plan to rebuild their society as, regardless of how many Lost they kill, the city is still crumbling around them. Resources will eventually dry up, and just sitting around twiddling their thumbs won't do anything to solve the problem. They needed to reunite with the outside world, but such things are easier said than done. With the Horrors roaming the surrounding area, death was almost a guarantee for any large-scale exodus. Not that that would be a problem for revenants as they can just revive, rather it would be dangerous for the humans. As it currently stands, a scouting team was dispatched earlier that month to make contact with the rest of civilization. Gregorio was confident that they will get the job done, as they were being led by Queenslayer himself. The plan is for them to request for military aid from outside, as well as begin growing mistle to allow for fast travel for the revenant population.

If worse came to worse and standard extraction wasn't an option, then the remaining humans will have to surrender their lives to become revenants themselves. Gregorio dearly wished that things won't come to that, as to become a revenant is to sacrifice everything that defines oneself. Life, memory, soul... The BOR parasite takes everything and replaces it with something most foul.

The aged man absently ran a hand through his hair, feeling over where once a pair of wolf ears stood. Not even he recalls the name this Kingdom once bore, but maybe that is for the better, all things considered. No one would want to associate with the origin of this entire mess. If only they hadn't uncovered that horrid cavern that lay buried beneath their feet. If only they hadn't noticed the tiny organisms that resided there. If only he hadn't allowed Mido to begin research on the BOR parasite.

Maybe then the Horrors would have never come for them...

He scoffed. Probably wouldn't have even made a difference. The Grimm never really cared about letting them live in peace.

But such errant thoughts were irrelevant at this point. For the time being, Gregorio just had to focus on salvaging what he can, plan for the future, and rely on the Queenslayer to complete his mission.

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"We're almost back to camp. Just a little further." remarked the leader of the group as he pressed onward, followed by the rest of his team along with the revenants.

"Sounds good." remarked Yakumo, who was helping the injured man keep up with everyone. "Feels like you're buddy here could stand to lose a few pounds."

"Hah, ha, very funny..." Tanner drawled as his comrades snickered. "Last time I take point during recon."

"Such is the risk of being the vanguard." Louis absently remarked as he briefly looked up from the book he was reading. "What were you fellows doing out there anyway?"

"Routine patrol." responded Argent as he pushed a branch out of his way. "Had to make sure our perimeter was relatively secure. Turns out it wasn't quite as safe as we initially thought."

"Well I don't think those beasts will be troubling you anymore." Mia opined. "Grey, are we still clear?"

The brunettes eyes briefly shifted to a deeper shade of red as he scanned their surroundings. "I don't see any hostiles. But there is a rather large congregation of people up ahead. I assume we are nearing our destination."

"That's right." Argent answered as he looked over his shoulder at Grey. "Damn, you got some pretty good eyesight. What kind of faunus are you anyway?"

"Bless you." remarked Yakumo.

"... That wasn't a sneeze." Argent said in deadpan.

"Oh... Then what the heck's a faunus?"

Olive chuckled from the side, casting a sidelong glance at the red-head. "What, you live under a rock or something?"

"Does six feet under count?" Grey quipped off-hand.

The joke flew over the humans heads, so Olive simply continued on. "A faunus, you know? The other race inhabiting the planet alongside humans? Have various animal features added to their bodies?" the woman went on as the revenants failed to understand what she was saying. "You seriously don't know?"

Grey shrugged. "We're not exactly from a place that you'd consider conventional, so I'm guessing this is a bit of a culture clash."

"A bit more to it than that, but an accurate analogy." Louis added.

"So, what, you're from some kind of anti-faunus settlement? Didn't think the racism got _that _bad."

"Like we said; we don't even know what a faunus is. Where we're from, there are humans, and then there's us."

Tanner scoffed weakly. "You make it sound like you aren't human either."

"That's correct." Grey replied, ignoring the brief halt in movement at his remark.

"Okay, now you're just screwing with us." grumbled the injured man.

"I take it that means you don't what revenants are? Huh... I was under the assumption that the outside world was at least aware of us." Louis mumbled as he closed his book and rubbed his chin in thought.

"... Are you trying to turn this conversation around on us? You're gonna give me a friggin headache."

"I'm sure you'd prefer that over your new limp, Tanner."

Tanner rolled his eyes. "Yes, Olive. As a matter of fact, I would." he responded, voice dripping with snark.

"Quit you're yapping." Argent interrupted firmly as they exited the cover of the foliage and arrived at the entrance to a campground of sorts. Some guards were posted at what had to be the entrance, and they stiffened upon seeing the addition to Argent's squad. "Keep calm, and let me do the talking. You saving our asses should earn you enough brownie points to not get kicked out immediately." he instructed as he jogged ahead to talk with the guards.

"Not the worst hospitality I've had to deal with." Yakumo opined with a chuckle before passing Tanner off to Olive and the other human member of the group.

After a brief argument between Argent and the guards, the duo begrudgingly conceded and ushered them into the complex. While Olive and the fourth member of the group split off to drag Tanner away for further treatment, Argent gestured for the revenants to follow him.

"Stay close and keep quiet. We need to go see the chief."

The trip through the campground was... tense, to say the least. Nearly everyone they passed kept their eyes locked on the revenants every move. It was more than obvious to the group that they weren't exactly a welcome visit.

"Anyone else feel a laser-sight pointed right about here?" Yakumo queried as he tapped his forehead.

"Not much different from avoiding Lost snipers back in the city."

"There is a _bit _of a difference. The Lost are predictable."

"True, but so are these people. Just don't antagonize them and we'll be fine."

Grey tuned out the conversation as he examined the surroundings. From what he could discern, the site was built in a compartmentalized style. This would allow for quick and easy cleanup should the inhabitants need to move. If trouble was heading their way that they couldn't handle, then they would swiftly pack up and leave and search for a new location to camp. And given the monsters roaming the land, he could see why such a construction style was preferred.

Turning his gaze forward, he spotted a woman up ahead who was doling out orders to several other members of the camp. The leader of their small group gave a quick nod before marching off with the others following him. It was then that the woman turned towards the revenants, allowing Grey a direct view of her appearance. She is clad in a combination of cloth and armor that is colored red and black, has a long mane of wavy hair that is dark as the night, eyes which are a deeper shade of red than Grey's own, and her face seemed to be set in a perpetual scowl.

The Queenslayer had a feeling that not only was this woman the chief that they needed to talk with, but that she was in no mood to deal with them. Grey was already bracing himself for when they would inevitably be kicked out.

"Argent." the woman spoke with a firm tone. "Would you mind telling me why exactly you have brought outsiders here?"

The man swallowed hard and tensed up. "During our patrol we were attacked by a horde of Grimm. Tanner was badly wounded, but with the intervention of these five we managed to defeat the enemy and return safely. They said that they are lost and were hoping that we could give them directions towards the nearest settlement. I could not, in good conscience, just leave them be after they helped us."

Shifting her gaze to glare at the revenants, the woman regarded them unblinkingly for a few moments before letting her gaze settle on Argent once more.

"You remember the tribes laws, correct?"

Argent stood unflinching in the wake of the woman's cold tone. "Yes."

"And yet you willingly brought these outsiders here in spite of that."

"Yes."

"Did you not once consider the possibility that they might be spies?" she asked as she began to circle Argent like a predator would do in order to trap their prey.

"It did cross my mind, yes."

"Your actions could have put the entire tribe at risk." the woman stated menacingly as she subtly began thumbing at the hilt of her sword. "Do you regret your decision?"

Argent kept his gaze aimed forward at the horizon, even as the woman stopped in front of him. "No."

A faint smirk tugged at the woman's lips as she hummed in satisfaction. "Very well." she responded as she loosened her grip on her sword. "I trust your semblance in regards to them. You always have been a good judge of character."

The tense atmosphere quickly dissipated and Argent released a soft sigh of relief.

"Go check on Tanner. I'll have a word with our guests."

Having been dismissed, Argent took his leave, which left the revenants alone with the woman.

"My name is Raven, and I am the chief of the tribe." she spoke as she turned and gestured for them to follow. "Come with me. Let's sit down to talk."

After being led into a relatively large tent that was guarded by two tribesmen, the group took a seat at the rectangular table at the center while Raven sat at the end. The woman rested her sword against the table and clasped her hands together while regarding the revenants with an impassive stare.

"So, to whom do I owe my thanks for aiding my people?"

Grey straightened his back as he locked eyes with Raven. "My name is Grey, and I am essentially the leader of our group." he answered before gesturing to his right. "This is Louis, and the girl next to him is Murasame."

Louis gave a slight nod of the head, while Murasame gave a friendly wave.

"And to my left is Mia, and lastly Yakumo."

"Hi."

"'Sup."

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way," Raven responded as she took note of their appearances. "I understand that you are somewhat lost. But first, would you mind removing your masks?" she asked as she gestured to her own face.

"Ah, sure." Grey replied as he took off his gas mask, prompting the others to do so as well. "My apologies. It is a force of habit for us to wear these."

"I take it that means they aren't for the sake of style?"

"A fair bit of our homeland is plagued with a miasma that is toxic to our kind." Louis answered handily. "These masks are required to be worn in most outdoor environments."

"Not so much anymore though." Yakumo added. "A lot of the miasma has cleared up, but it's better to be on the safe side."

Raven raised a questioning brow. "'Your kind'?"

"We aren't human. At least, not anymore." Grey answered somewhat sullenly.

"Nor are we whatever a faunus is."

"Given the immensity of the situation that came beforehand, we had assumed that those outside of the city were at least somewhat aware of the state of things."

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Raven was curious as to where this conversation was going. "What city? What situation? Did something happen?"

This time it was Grey's turn to be confused. "You... really don't know?"

"I don't think she does." Mia opined.

"To the south-east, the major city that is surrounded by Horrors?"

"The only thing of note in that direction is the Blood Scar. A ruined wasteland where the most menacing Grimm in the lands continue to roam. There has never been a city out there. Much too dangerous for a settlement of any size to be constructed." the woman responded, though her tone held slight traces of doubt.

'_Is this Ozpin's doing? They show no signs of lying, and that land has always been forbidden.'_

Grey ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Something about this reeks of foul-play... There's an entire city at the center of that hellscape. Kept safe behind a protective barrier that prevented the Horrors from entering, for years we have been cut-off from the rest of the world. And you're saying that there's nothing out there, save for those monsters?"

'_Definitely something Ozpin would know about. Just what the hell has he been hiding from us?'_

"We seem to have drifted off topic. If you aren't human or faunus, then what does that make you?"

Grey's eyes started to glow red as his fangs became more pronounced, something that didn't go unnoticed by Raven. "We are what you call, revenants."

"Revenants?"

"Through certain scientific means, we have surrendered our humanity in exchange for power and nigh eternal life." Louis spoke in response.

"We do not age, we are immune to illness, and so long as our heart isn't destroyed, we cannot be killed." the Queenslayer explained as his gaze hardened.

"You're... vampires?" Raven uttered in disbelief.

"Hey!" Yakumo barked. "That's _our _word. You don't get to use it."

The woman looked genuinely confused for a moment.

"He's just kidding." Grey added as Yakumo began to smirk. "Though there is some truth to his words. While we may be similar to the mythical creature, we prefer that you don't associate us with it. The term vampire has a certain stigma to it, whereas we aren't that much different from anyone else. We still eat, drink, and sleep like normal, though only blood or blood substitutes can satisfy our thirst. And before you ask, no, we do not sparkle in the sunlight. Only an absolute moron would believe such a thing."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Raven did her best to collect her thoughts and make some sense of what she was being told.

"Let's... just pretend for a moment that I fully believe you. If what you say is true, then why have you left your home?"

"It's been less of a home and more of a prison ever since the barrier went up." Yakumo spoke blandly. "We wanted to go for a walk and meet our neighbors."

"Our main purpose is to make contact with the outside world." Grey corrected as he rolled his eyes at Yakumo. "Now that we can leave the city freely, we intend to help the surviving humans escape. The city isn't a very nice or safe place to live."

Raven released a soft sigh as she processed that information. "I think I see where you're going with this."

"We can tell that neither you or your tribe is equipped or even willing to aid us in our mission." Grey replied evenly. "If you would be kind enough to point us in the direction of the nearest major city, then we will be on our way and out of your hair."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Raven lifted her head and took a breath as she pondered her options. As she exhaled, she gazed at Grey once again. "I am willing to help you, but only on one condition."

"If it's within reason."

"I'll do you the favor of taking you to the nearest kingdom, however in exchange you will owe me a favor. A favor that I will come to collect at a later date when it is needed. Do you agree to these terms?"

"Not gonna help us out of the goodness of your heart?" remarked Yakumo.

"You are lucky that you even managed to gain entrance to the tribe. Even more so that you are talking to me right now. If you want anything more, it'll cost you."

"Hnn, your call boss." the red-head said as he glanced at Grey.

"I suppose that will work." he answered with a slight shrug.

Raven grinned. "Then we have reached an agreement." she said before standing up and grabbing her sword. "I will use my semblance to transport you to an ideal destination for you, or thereabouts within that range."

She had no intention of telling them how exactly her semblance worked, so they'd just assume the location they exit at will be random.

"Semblance?" Murasame remarked in confusion. "What's that?"

"I'm not here to act as your guide to the world." Raven replied. "If you want answers, get them elsewhere. I have my own business to attend to." she explained as she sliced her sword through the air and opened a portal.

"This should take you to the Kingdom of Vale."

Grey looked at the portal with a slight amount of apprehension, but took Raven's word for it regardless. The woman seemed intent on collecting on their end of the deal at a later time, so she had no reason to lead them astray. Standing up, Grey made his way towards the portal, followed soon after by his friends.

"A word of caution however." Raven spoke up before they walked into the void. "If you encounter a man by the name of Ozpin, it would be in your best interest to give him a wide berth. He has ambitions that are far grander than what he is capable of, and is likely to subvert your own goal to align with his."

"Is he dangerous?"

"If it is true that you are immortal, then he is of a similar breed, though he has countless years of experience under his belt. It would do you well to exercise caution in his presence in the event that you should meet."

Grey nodded his head. "We appreciate the warning."

And with that, the revenants entered the portal.

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When the revenants exited the dark passage that Raven had opened for them, they were not quite sure what to expect. She made it sound like Vale was a major city -or rather kingdom- but they still had no real idea of what awaited them. The Gaol had been cut-off from the world for so long, that the society outside could have advanced by years in terms of culture and technology.

But when they stepped out of the dark and into the light, they were greeted by the sight of a city in chaos.

People were running for their lives, hordes of monsters were stalking the streets, machines and masked-men were gunning down civilians, ships in the sky bombarded the land with powerful beams of energy, flames burned and reached upwards into the air, and a massive dragon was circling the city and dropping in even more of the beasts.

"What the hell?" Louis said in quiet disbelief.

"Why's the city on fire?!" Yakumo shouted in a panic as he looked all around him.

"It's under attack!"

"This can't be happening!"

"What do we do?!"

Despite all the chaos that was unfolding around him, Grey simply re-affixed his mask over his face as his eyes narrowed. The two tails of his black mantle sunk into the ground, only to erupt as a mass of swords that impaled the wolf-like beast that charged him from behind.

"We fight, we drink blood, we revive, and then we fight some more. Same as always."


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow, another chapter already. I wonder how long mister author will be able to keep this up. By the way; if you don't agree with the way this story is going, then why don't you write one yourself? The site could use some more Code Vein xovers."

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The scent of human blood was thick in the air. Despite all the smoke doing its best to overpower the copper-like smell, Grey's nose was easily able to home in on it. For revenants, nothing truly compared to the taste of fresh human blood. Though blood beads are satisfactory enough in slaking the thirst, the crimson liquid contained within the body of man was what they truly desired. Blood beads are the substitute, while fresh blood will always be what revenants desire most. So in order to protect humans from any revenants with ill intentions, humans are required to undergo routine injections of a special medicine that makes their blood smell less appetizing for a revenant. Though some revenants have enough self-control to stop themselves from acting on their instinctive urges, Grey was not exactly one of them. And standing at the center of a city where the blood was beginning to flow like a river, it was taking considerable restraint on his part, coupled with the extra modifications made to his mask, to keep his impulses in check.

It was anyone's guess as to why he had difficulty controlling himself in regards to blood, as there are multiple possibilities. The pre-standing abnormality in his blood, the nature of his Void blood code, or even the Queen's blood that still flows through his veins, any of it or all of it could be the cause. But regardless of the reason for it, Grey continued to fend off the primal urge to attack a human and suck them dry. Instead, he'd throw himself into combat and allow the heat of battle to keep him focused.

Seemingly heedless of the anarchy that reigned throughout the city, Grey calmly walked forward and grabbed the arm of a soldier who was running past him. The man jerked to a halt and spun to face Grey.

"What-"

"Situation, NOW."

After a moment of being flabbergasted by Grey's actions, the man was able to provide a proper response.

"Grimm have breached the city and our defenses have either been shut down or subverted! If you guys are huntsmen, then get your asses over to Burnish Park! We need to mount a counter-offensive and link up with the forces who are defending the docks!"

Shaking himself free from Grey's grasp, the man turned to leave before calling out behind to them.

"Long-range comms are down! Spread the word!"

"Looks like we have our immediate goal." Yakumo remarked as he hefted Onislayer over his shoulder. "Too bad we don't know where the hell the park is."

"We should start by finding a vantage point." Louis suggested helpfully.

"Yakumo, you cover our rear. Louis, stick with Murasame. Mia, you watch my back. I'll take point." Grey instructed as he looked for a tall building to use. Eventually his gaze landed on a clock tower several blocks away. He immediately pointed it out. "There! Let's go!"

Rushing forward at top-speed, Grey knew that they didn't have any time to waste with street-clearing, as that would just be a drop in the bucket in the long run. The only enemies they should engage are those who can't be avoided. A large bird-beast came swooping down from above, intent on grabbing Grey with its sharp talons. He didn't even spare it a second glance as Mia's rifle went off behind him and grounded the avian. Spotting several mechanical soldiers standing in their path, Grey dashed forward while coating his arm in the tell-tale purple glow of voltaic energy. Ducking down to avoid the gunfire aimed at his head, he swung his arm outward and cut the machines down with a blade of lightning that extended from his limb.

The Queenslayer didn't even slow down in the wake of his attack. He knew he could count on his friends to keep up with him, and that's exactly what they did. Making a sharp turn at an intersection, Grey was now faced with a new type of enemy entirely. A man wearing a mask reminiscent of what adorned the Grimm, had his rifle aimed squarely at the head of a soldier who had been knocked down. At that close of a range, the mans protective helmet would do him no good whatsoever. Grey didn't even hesitate as he knocked the rifle off-target with a throwing knife, nor did he waver as he plunged the tip of Memento into the attackers stomach. There was a brief moment of resistance for some reason, but a revenants increased strength wasn't something that is easily stopped.

Pivoting on his heel, Grey spun around the dying man as he ripped his sword from their chest and continued sprinting. Human blood -or faunus blood- now stained his blade. Not the blood or ichor of a Lost, but the life fluid of a person who will not be getting up ever again. Yet he felt no remorse for having done so. He had just snuffed out the life of another person, but could not afford the time to be burdened by it. Rather, deep within him, in the darkest corner of his subconscious, he grew excited at the prospect of spilling even more blood. The euphoric feeling associated with the idea of bathing in the crimson liquid, drowning in it even.

But such dark thoughts were locked away in his mind, being held within the same emptiness that was once his own memory. Forgotten forever, yet always tempting to remember.

Grey vaulted over an overturned truck that was blocking the road and landed on the other side with ease. His friends were quick to follow, as even Murasame was able to maintain her speed despite the weight of the massive pack she was carrying. To think that the smallest among them was actually the physically strongest... Grey absently wondered if that hurt Yakumo's pride in any way.

After rushing down a few more roads, the group finally arrived at the tower. Now all they needed was for someone to scale it. Time was of the essence, so Grey had to come up with something on the fly.

"Murasame, I need you to launch me up."

After a moment of confusion, the blacksmith was able to figure out what he meant.

"Right!" she responded with a vigorous head nod. Dropping her bag to the ground, she clasped her hands together and crouched down so Grey could step into her grasp.

"Hup!"

With a grunt, Murasame flung Grey upwards using her impressive strength. He was able to reach a staggering apex of seven stories high, just a little bit short of the top of the tower. Stabbing his sword into the side of the building, Grey was able to maintain his height and get a proper lay of the land.

From his new vantage point, he was able to see just how grand of a scale this attack is. Screams constantly echoed through the air, only to be drowned out by the roar of both beast and gunfire. Yet amidst all the chaos, Grey quickly spotted a large open area roughly half a mile away that had increased activity in it. That had to be the park.

Dropping from his perch and landing into a crouch, he was quick to resume his sprint.

"Follow me!"

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Things were not looking very well at the moment for lieutenant Blackwell. The initial attack on the kingdom was already a big enough blow itself. But in the wake of the mayhem caused by the Atlesian mechs going rogue, combined with their airships being hijacked, the prospect of defeating the enemy was no longer an option. Communications were either destroyed or being jammed, and he was left as the highest ranking officer on site. Meaning the duty of putting together a strong enough force to break through the enemy ranks fell squarely upon his shoulders. Sure he had combat experience, but nothing along the lines of cobbling together a makeshift platoon to fight off a combination of Grimm, White Fang, and even their own knights.

In regards to his fellow squads, Able, Dog, and Easy were completely wiped out. Baker, Charlie, and Fox had already lost several of their own, and George only had a single surviving member. That meant that the only squads remaining who are at full strength is Howard and his own squad, Item. He managed to pull in a few stragglers from Beta platoon who wound up getting separated during the attack, and even a few 'non-combatants' who had no intention of sitting still and dying. Blackwell just had to ignore their criminal status for the time being, as they knew this was their best bet of getting to an evac point.

All-in-all, he amassed a platoon several dozen strong. But he was sorely lacking in one department; huntsmen.

Aside from a few of the criminals he managed to recruit, the rest of his men were sorely lacking in heavy firepower and explosives. Which meant that anything larger than an ursa or more armored than a knight would be a problem to deal with. A huntsman would be equipped to deal with those things, not standard foot soldiers. And as it was, he had no huntsman support.

Time was of the essence, and he needed to make a decision soon. Does he risk what he has and try to break through now? Or does he wait in the hopes that a team of huntsmen show up to help, all the while the enemy continues to surround them.

Looking down the street, he noticed a beowolf turn the corner and charge in their direction. His squadmate's rifle went off next to him, the bullet puncturing the Grimms head long before it could reach their hastily cobbled together barricade.

"What's the call sir?" another one of his men asked as he approached from behind. "The men are getting restless, and the enemy is slowly advancing on us."

Blackwell clicked his tongue in frustration. He couldn't afford to delay the attack any longer.

"Who's in charge here?!" came a shout from the rear of the group.

Turning to face the source of the commotion, Blackwell spotted a group of four armed individuals along with an unarmed fifth enter the park. Given their stand-out appearance and equipment, they had to be a team of huntsmen. Finally things were starting to look up.

Jogging over to the newcomers, the lieutenant flipped up the visor on his helmet to greet them.

"Lieutenant Blackwell; commander of squad Item, as well as the half-formed platoon you see here."

The groups leader gave his men a once-over before nodding. "I see. A soldier informed us that you plan to mount a counter attack. What do you need us to do?"

Blackwell couldn't stop his lips from curling upwards ever so slightly. Turning around and walking back to his initial position, he gestured for the huntsmen to follow. Back at the barricade, he pointed down the street.

"The docks that we need to get to are about a mile down that way. They'll be heavily defended with plenty of our forces dug in to hold off the enemy while the civvies get evacuated."

Another gunshot went off, instantly killing another beowolf.

"Our only problem is the countless amount of things along the way that want us dead."

"Is this all we have to work with?" the leader asked without even shifting his gaze from down the street.

Blackwell let out a barely audible sigh. "'Fraid so. All the mechs have gone rogue, and air-support is tied up elsewhere."

The man gave his blade a quick twirl. "We'll make it work."

"I hope you can back up those words, 'cause you'll be the vanguard." Blackwell responded. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. This is pretty much a death sentence for you guys, but we'll do our best to keep you covered."

Strangely, he chuckled at that remark.

"'In the face of certain death, we rise.'"

Blackwell was unsure of what that phrase meant, but assumed it must have been a saying in his team.

"Alright everybody! We're moving out in sixty seconds! Get your shit together and remember your position in the formation!" Blackwell shouted loud and clear. "Only engage if absolutely necessary, as we will continue moving forward unless I say otherwise!"

The lieutenant then got in position near the front of their group. Staring forward at the backs of the huntsmen, he noticed how they didn't waver in the slightest, and maintained a sense of strength. All that was left for him to do was pray that his plan would work out.

The sixty second warning was up. Now was the time to move.

"Forward!"

Leading the charge, the huntsmen left a small gap between themselves and the rest of Blackwell's forces, allowing them a few extra moments to deal with any threats before they reached the formation.

"Louis, fire right!" the leader ordered just as they neared an intersection.

Even though it wasn't in sight yet, the man somehow knew that an ursa was waiting around the corner. But with the call-out, Louis sent a blast of flames down the street and incinerated the beast before it could attack them. However the bastard managed to let out a roar of anger even as it was dying, which would no doubt attract more Grimm to their location.

Looking over his shoulder, Blackwell could see that the rest of the formation was doing well to keep up. Several of their rifles went off as they warded away some of the Grimm who were giving chase, but that was within his predictions.

"Blackwell! There's a fork in the road! Right or left?!"

"We go left!"

It turned out that was the wrong choice, as several goliaths were waiting for them in that direction.

"Fuck! Go right!"

Swerving to the right at the last second, the lead huntsmen fired a massive blast of ice at one of the corner stores that was already half-destroyed. The frozen projectile was enough to finish the job, as the remainder of the three story building collapsed into the road and blocked the goliaths from being able to immediately give chase.

While infinitely grateful for the save, Blackwell now had to restructure the planned path in his head on the fly. This wasn't his city, so he couldn't afford to make a mistake and send them down a dead end.

"At the third upcoming intersection, make a left! We'll have to cut through Silverdo square!"

Multiple beowolf howls could be heard filling the air, signaling that a pack was coming for them now.

"Watch those corners! Don't let these bastards get the jump on you!"

Reaching the target intersection, they turned left to enter the large plaza with the hopes that the open stretch of land would be easy to traverse. However things weren't going to be that simple.

Even more knights were shambling about, firing their rifles in all directions. What's worse, Blackwell spotted a couple of hijacked paladins among them.

"Shit! There's no way we'll make it through here!"

Yet before he could issue the order to change direction again, the huntsmen already made their move.

"Then I'll just make a path for us!"

Pale-red eyes changed color to a deep blue as the leader of the team stepped forward. An azure glow emanated from his gaze, which was followed by his left arm being covered in ice.

What happened next would remain clear in Blackwell's memory until his dying breath.

"I will freeze this world in a prison of ice!" he roared as his palm shot forward.

"**Baba Yaga's Gaze!"**

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Although he wasn't aware of it, Grey's actions in that moment did not go unnoticed by several important individuals within Vale. As a result, he would be made a priority target to locate for a multitude of reasons.

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With the last of the soldiers they were escorting making it behind the safety of the blast-doors, the revenants allowed themselves a moment of satisfaction at their success. Despite the various hiccups during the trip, they managed to get everyone to the docks with only a few suffering from minor injuries. Something that Blackwell was extremely pleased with.

"Now that that's done, what next?" Yakumo asked as he cracked his neck. "I'm still firing on all cylinders."

Shifting his gaze to the academy in the distance, Grey had noticed that the dragon was sticking close to that area for some reason. Something or someone was keeping it there.

"We go to Beacon." he answered as his friends followed his gaze. "I think it's about time I earn the title of Dragonslayer."

"That's a great aspiration and all, but how do you plan on us getting there?" Louis wondered aloud.

Grey jerked his head in the direction of the airships that were bringing in evacuees. They just needed to hitch a ride.

"Mia, you stay behind with Murasame and help out where you can."

"But I-"

"I know you want to help, but we aren't leaving Murasame alone here. It'll be too dangerous for her to follow us up there."

Murasame felt dejected at Grey's remark. She didn't want to be a burden to the group, but unless she is willing to fight again, this was a battle she'd have to sit out. They would need to fully focus on the battle, and couldn't afford to guard her. Why couldn't she just reignite that fire inside her? There was a time when she was infamously known as the Raksha of the battlefield. But now she was the helpless support...

"Alright Grey. I'll keep her safe."

By the time Murasame dragged herself out of her bout of self-depreciation, Grey, Louis, and Yakumo were already heading over to one of the airships.

Climbing aboard the vehicle, Grey tapped the pilot on the shoulder. "Think we can hitch a ride to Beacon? Gotta help with the evacuation."

Briefly looking over his new passengers, the pilot nodded reluctantly. "Just don't expect me to get your asses out of there anytime soon."

Watching as the male members of their team took off into the night sky, Murasame shook her head in aggravation for failing to act. Still, she couldn't allow such a thing to get her down right now. Mia was with her, and she'd make sure not to be a burden for the blonde.

Another airship flew in with more civilians who would be taking the boats out of the city. However the propellers of this airship sputtered for a few moments before grinding to a halt.

"Shit! The engine just died!" the pilot cursed in frustration.

The orangette hardened her expression as she dropped her bag and reached for her tools. She had her own way of helping out.

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"Fuck, these bastards are persistent!"

Grey, Louis, and Yakumo grabbed the railings as the airship jerked from side to side, the pilot needing to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the numerous airborne threats.

"They don't seem intent on letting us land!" the man shouted as he opened fire on some kind of winged horse-thing that circled around to the front of the ship.

"We need to get down there!" Grey said as he launched several flaming projectiles out the open door. "Just fly over the courtyard and we'll drop in!"

"Are you nuts?! Even with aura you'll break your legs if you drop from this height!"

Grey immediately activated a Gift that would negate falling damage, and applied it to Louis and Yakumo as well. "We'll be fine! Hurry up and get us over there!"

"Fine! It's your funeral!"

Grey smirked ever so slightly underneath his mask.

"In the face of certain death, we rise." he recited once again.

And then he jumped.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, the author managed to pump out another chapter... I got nothing else to add."

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Plummeting through the sky at break-neck speeds without a parachute wasn't exactly anyone's ideal means of travel. The whole 'break-neck' part of it is more than enough of an explanation as to why people would be adverse to the idea. But for a revenant who can nullify the effect of gravitational impact, it was comparable to jumping down half a flight of stairs. They landed with an audible thud, its relative softness belying the staggering height from which they had dropped.

Grey was already exploding into action before those nearby his drop-zone had the time to react to his unorthodox entrance. His eyes immediately snapped to the masked men who were still reeling from his arrival. Moments before, they had their weapons aimed at a group of colorfully dressed and heavily armed teenagers, but their survival instincts screamed at them that a bigger threat had just arrived and was now bearing down on them.

Just as the nearest man turned his gun towards Grey, the revenant had stepped into his guard and grabbed him by the face. Slamming the thug to the ground, his mantle embedded itself beneath the earth, and soon erupted as numerous blades that impaled the man he was holding down. The gleaming steel had effortlessly skewered the man while also avoiding Grey's own body, which became splattered with the dead mans still-warm blood.

Standing upright, Grey made for an intimidating sight, what with his mask still bearing the augmentations from his veil, as well as the crimson liquid that dripped from his body. But the most frightening aspect of him was his eyes. They glowed a fierce scarlet color that was reminiscent of the Grimm's own.

And to make matters worse for the terrorists, all the blood that stained his form began to float into the air, where it coalesced into several fist-sized bubbles. Raising his hand slightly, the bubbles surrounding Grey took on a more threatening form. Now shaped into menacing spikes, the crimson constructs were aimed squarely at the enemy.

"Fuck-"

The man never finished his sentence, as Grey snapped his wrist downward and sent the spikes soaring for their targets. A couple of the projectiles managed to pierce straight through the torso of their targets, but the others merely sent the attackers flying backwards. It was only because of the brief glow across their bodies that clued Grey in that they possessed some form of protective barrier around them. Not that it mattered much. He'd just hit them harder and repeatedly.

Raising his blade, the Queenslayer was able to deflect several bullets as he charged at the shooter. The man panicked as Grey closed the distance between them and tossed his gun to the side in favor of his sword. Starting off with an overhead slash, Grey utilized his strength to apply pressure to his opponents blade when they blocked his attack. However it was a futile defense, as Grey quickly broke through and dug the edge of his sword into the mans neck. All resistance failed at that point, and Memento swiftly bisected the man from neck to hip.

A massive mech that was piloted by an enemy was rapidly approaching Grey from the left, but he paid it no mind. The massive double-edged sword Onislayer found itself impaled into the machines flank, and the owner of said sword was quick to follow, kicking the sword deeper in and embedding its tip into the torso of the pilot in the cockpit. Yakumo then ripped the blade free, spilling out a mix of blood and oil from the mech.

Meanwhile Louis was dashing from one enemy to the other as he systematically cut down those who were armed for melee combat. None of them stood a chance against Louis in close-quarters, as he would constantly bypass their guard or circle around them in mist-form.

"What's the plan Grey?!" Yakumo shouted as he booted an enemy in the chest and sent him flying.

"Yakumo, you hold the ground here and wait for the evac shuttles to arrive! You are responsible for protecting whoever makes it to this courtyard!" Grey answered before firing off a barrage of ice at several more incoming gunmen. "Louis, you go around and find as many survivors as you can and escort them back here!"

"What about you?" said man responded as he injected a stamina enhancing drug into his neck.

Looking up to the top of the tower, Grey noticed that there was a large amount of commotion taking place at the highest level.

"I'm going up." he answered as he dashed towards the buildings entrance. "Something's going on up there, and that dragon seems to be part of it in some way! Whatever it is, I'm putting an end to it!"

Louis huffed in amusement. "Can't wait to see how he pulls that off."

"Well if you want a front row seat to the action, then you better hurry up and finish your task!" Yakumo opined as he finished off the last enemy in the area.

"Right!" Louis nodded as he sped off to search for stragglers.

With a moment of calm finally being afforded to him, Yakumo shifted his gaze to the gathering of people he was tasked with guarding. Strangely though, all of them appeared to be heavily armed teenagers wearing a myriad of colorful outfits.

"Is everyone here okay?" he asked, making sure no one is critically injured.

"A bit exhausted and running low on ammunition, but other than that we've only suffered minor injuries." answered a blonde-haired boy armed with a staff who had a tail of some sort protruding from his lower-back. "Are you supposed to be the reinforcements or something?"

Yakumo shrugged. "'Or something'. We're not exactly here on official business. Just volunteered to help with the evac and hitched a ride over."

"Well you arrived just in the nick of time. The Grimm are enough of a problem on their own. But then those White Fang jerks had to join in." the teen responded as he disassembled his staff into several shotguns and began reloading them.

The redheaded revenant chuckled in amusement. "Shotgun-chucks. I like it!"

"Incoming enemy forces!" shouted one of the teens who was on watch.

Yakumo turned to see several more mechs that were accompanied by numerous footsoldiers.

"Alright kiddos, leave the big boys to me." he instructed as he made sure his mask was firmly attached to its frame. "Time to let loose!"

"Don't do it! You're no match for all of them at once!" a white-haired girl shouted in concern.

However Yakumo paid her no mind as he charged headlong into the fray. His eyes began to glow crimson as his mask began to change shape and the sleeves of his jacket seemed to come alive.

"In the face of certain death,"

Reaching the first mech, the giant machine brought its arms down in an attempt to crush the revenant. Only for both limbs to be caught by a pair of demented wolf-heads that formed from his jacket.

"WE RISE!"

His blade swung upward, slicing straight through the cockpit.

**(-)**

Louis was making his way through the campus in record time, already having found several survivors and directed them to the courtyard. While search and rescue efforts in an environment such as this would be difficult for most, his abilities as a revenant made the process much easier. Not only did his speed allow for quickly traversing a distance, his heightened senses were also a boon. Darkness did nothing to hamper his vision, and he had an easier time identifying cries for help. But it was his sense of smell that gave him the greatest advantage. For as long as he followed the scent of blood, he would no doubt reach the person who the substance belonged to.

His nose twitched upon picking up the familiar copper-scent once again. It smelled particularly fresh and was also nearby. He had to hurry.

Running down the halls of the burning building, the scholar couldn't help but wonder why this was happening. The entire city seemed to be embroiled in the conflict, being under siege by beast, machine, and man. It was nearly as bad as the Great Collapse that reduced Crimson City to ruins and gave birth to the revenants and subsequently the Lost.

What was to be gained by all this slaughter? What kind of monster would enact such heinous crimes?

A cry of pain rang out from up ahead, and Louis swiftly cast aside his thoughts in the interest of speeding up. All that stood in his way to the next room was a collapsed and burning doorway. There wasn't any time to go around, so he'd need to go through.

Flames gathered in his free-hand and shot forward with a flick of the wrist. The rubble blocking his passage was blown apart, and he quickly jumped through the opening and into the next room. Landing with ease, Louis quickly looked-over his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of large room with a high ceiling, and numerous tall windows that lined the walls. Fire had spread throughout the room, reminding him of the time spent in the city of falling flames, as it showed no signs of stopping and was covering a considerable amount of the infrastructure. But as he examined his surroundings, he noticed that he wasn't alone.

A red-haired man wearing a mask similar to the other attackers was standing over the bodies of two injured girls. One had been stabbed in the stomach but remained conscious, while the other was passed out and missing her right arm. Even if it weren't for the mask identifying him as an enemy, the blood dripping from the mans katana was enough of a give-away as to where things stood with him. The man turned slightly to lock his gaze with Louis.

A simple gaze was all that was needed for the two of them to understand that they were enemies. No words were exchanged, no actions carried out, just one look was all it had taken.

The man flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed the blade while he lowered his body into a quickdraw stance.

"Another human scum to fall at my blade." the man remarked coldly.

Louis quickly shifted into a stance of his own, readying himself for the imminent attack.

"Guess again."

His opponent hummed in thought. "No matter. That makes you just as vile."

"Yet that still makes me better than you." Louis responded as his fingers twitched, ready to call upon more flames.

The man released a barely audible snarl and exploded into motion. He crossed half the distance between them in just under a second, his finger already pulling at the trigger in his scabbard. Louis saw the attack coming and quickly leaned backwards just as he heard the gunshot go off. A flash of red missed his face by only an inch, and he immediately reacted by batting away the scabbard-gun that was now aimed at his torso. Another gunshot went off, but missed Louis by a safe margin. Meanwhile his opponent did not pause from the miss, and had shifted his swords trajectory into a downward slice. Louis' leg snapped up and he struck the mans hand with his knee, bringing his momentum to a halt. Attempting to put Louis off-balance, the man applied more pressure to his attack, only to stumble forward as Louis' body turned to mist and passed through him. Jabbing the butt of his scabbard behind him, he managed to catch Louis' blade before it stabbed him in the back.

A loud bang resonated as the weapons made contact, and the force was enough to send the two fighters sliding away from one another. They silently stood apart, both planning their next move after that initial clash.

"Don't strike Adam's weapons!" one of the girls shouted as she carried the other to the exit. "He'll turn the force against you!"

The man clicked his tongue in annoyance and contemplated firing a shot at the girl. That moment of distraction was all Louis needed. He rushed forward as a cloud of mist, effectively obscuring where his attack would come from. Adam was briefly caught off-guard as Louis' blade came from below, aimed to strike his leg. Deflecting the attack at the last moment, it only managed to graze his thigh, doing no physical damage to him. However when Louis' left hand shot forward while covered in flames, Adam had no choice but to power through it. The fire engulfed his torso yet he didn't even bother to avoid it, opting instead to step forward and bash his head against Louis'. Momentarily stunned from the unconventional attack, Louis was unable to fully avoid the following slice as it cut into his left fore-arm.

Backing away, Adam allowed himself a brief chuckle. "No Aura? That's unfortunate."

Louis decided it was best to remain silent, as he had no intention of giving his opponent any advantageous information. Instead, he reached into one of the pouches at his waist and pulled out a small gray cartridge. Sliding the object into the pommel of his sword, the blade took on a similarly colored hue.

Adam decided to capitalize on the brief opening and rushed forward for another draw-attack. His sword dragged across the arm-guard of Louis' blood veil, but was then redirected away from him. The two fighters soon found themselves locked in a cycle of blocks and parries, with Louis doing his best to avoid hitting Adam's blade, something that was clearing annoying him. However as the clash dragged on, Adam began to suffer from successive glancing blows to his arms and legs. Such a change wasn't normal, as he wasn't feeling any fatigue. Something was wrong, and he soon realized what.

Firing off several shots from his scabbard, Adam managed to put some distance between himself and Louis. "That cartridge." he growled in anger. "You put gravity dust in your sword." he barked in accusation.

Louis again remained silent, as he had no idea what Adam was talking about.

"But gravity dust doesn't work that way. You can't apply it via weapon contact."

Growling in aggravation once more, Adam shifted his stance. "No matter. I'll kill you regardless."

Louis could tell that the fight was far from over.

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Dashing through the halls of Beacon at a speed that would get him one hell of a stern talking to by a teacher, Grey was frantically searching for access to the elevator of the main tower. Even at his max speed, it would take him far too long to climb his way to the top, so he needed a faster option. Granted there was no guarantee that the thing would even be working in the wake of all the destruction, it was still nice to dream. But of course that dream turned to a nightmare upon finally arriving at his destination. The whole system was falling apart. One of the shafts looked as if someone had fired a giant boulder or something down it, and the lift itself was missing. Fortunately for Grey, the other shaft was in much better condition.

Peeking his head in, he looked up to see the lift had stopped several floors up. All he needed to do was climb the maintenance ladder to reach it.

"I did not think I would be doing anything along this line when I woke up this morning." he groused quietly to himself as he made his way upwards.

He soon reached the elevator and climbed on top to drop in through the hatch.

"Here's to hoping it still has power." Grey remarked as he pushed the buttons on the panel.

The machine groaned for a few moments and shook, but ultimately went nowhere.

"Alright. Time to do this the crazy way."

Climbing back out the hatch, Grey stood on top of the lift and took a firm hold of one of the cables. All he needed to do was cut the one attached to the lift itself, and the counter-weight would pull him upwards. He pressed the edge of Memento against the cable as he prepared to cut it.

"In the face of certain death..."

A single clean slice later, and Grey found himself rocketing upwards at a beyond dangerous speed in an enclosed space one should never go at. What's worse, he looked up to see chunks of debris were now falling down the shaft to meet him.

"That isn't good." he grumbled in annoyance, barely managing to form a protective barrier around himself with swords from his blood veil.

"Can this day get any more dangerous?"

In hindsight, he probably jinxed himself by saying that.

Just as he reached the top floor of the tower, he kicked off the wall and flung himself out of the shaft before he became a pancake on the ceiling. What greeted him was the sight of a woman dressed in red who was about to shoot a teenage girl in the chest with an arrow. Grey immediately shot forward to stop her.

"NO!"

But he was too late. The girl was struck in the chest with the arrow most likely puncturing a lung. She seemed to be in shock and lost all sense of what was happening around her. Another girl had just arrived having climbed up the side of the tower, and looked on in horror. Grey saw all of this happen in the span of a few seconds, and had to make a split second decision.

A pillar of ice erupted from the ground in front of the attacking woman, causing her to back off in alarm. He then rushed forward and grabbed the dying girl in one arm, then kicked off the pillar and towards the other girl.

"You'll be fine, trust me."

The younger looking girl had hardly any time to react as he thrust the injured girl into her arms, placed his hand on her shoulder to apply the required gift, and then pushed her off the building.

"YAKUMO! CATCH!"

He knew he could count on Yakumo to save them. He _had _to count on it. Both of those girls were as good as dead even if they remained on the tower, as his new opponent was far too dangerous for them to stand a chance. Grey quickly spun around and snatched the arrow out of the air that was aimed at his head. Snapping the object in half, he glared at the woman standing across from him.

"That was quite rude of you." she remarked with a chiding tone. "I wasn't finished with her yet. Though I suppose she'll be dead soon anyway. Not many can survive that high of a drop."

Grey didn't like the way the woman talked. Her soothing voice did little to conceal her condescending tone. No, not condescending. To her, everyone was nothing more than an insect to be crushed. Words filled with poison and arrogance, but the capability to back them up. Something about her reminded him of Mido, and that made her all the more dangerous. But it was the calculating look in her eyes that sealed the deal for him. Given the current location and the way she carried herself, it was easy for him to figure it out.

"You're the one responsible for all this." he stated coldly.

The woman smirked in amusement. "Well aren't you the smart one. Since you came here to stop me, you must be one of Ozpin's. Pity you weren't here earlier to help."

Grey was genuinely surprised at how short a time it took before Ozpin's name popped up, and the woman mistook the slight widening of his eyes as confirmation.

"You might as well give up. Your boss is already gone, and Vale is in ruins. So what could you hope to accomplish by coming here?"

Grey tightened his grip on Memento. "I guess that means once I kill you, I can bring this all to an end?"

The woman chuckled in response. "How amusing. You actually think you stand a chance." she remarked as she held out her hand, allowing a ball of fire to form in it. "When I'm finished with you, there will be nothing left but ashes."

"When I'm finished with you, there will be nothing left, period."

**(-)**

Swords began to clash once again as Louis and Adam continued to rush each other with the intent of killing the other. Adam was starting to compensate for his slowed movements by limiting his range so he could recover faster, meanwhile Louis was doing his best to avoid striking Adam's sword. He wasn't quite sure about the specifics behind the mans ability, but he had no intention of finding out first-hand. However the battle was dragging on far longer than either combatant had realized, and it was clear that Adam had intended to quickly finish off Louis and move on. Yet that ended up not being the case. In fact, their fight dragged on to the point that their 'arena' was gradually becoming smaller.

The flames weren't going to die out anytime soon, and the building was starting to crumble around them. Flaming debris would periodically come crashing down, nearly crushing them several times, and the fire continued to crawl its way towards them across the floor.

Neither of them were willing to be the first to flee as that would leave them open to attack, so it was now down to a game of chicken to see who would give up first. That, or kill their opponent.

Louis could feel the heat of the flames at his back, prodding him further inward towards Adam, who was in a similar predicament. Time was almost up, and Louis quickly formulated a dangerous plan in order to win.

"It's a shame you picked the wrong side." Adam remarked with a scowl. "Your skills are quite impressive. Yet you side with those filthy humans instead of your faunus brethren."

"When did I ever say I was a faunus?"

Adam's brow furrowed ever so slightly. "You said you aren't human."

"True. But I'm not a faunus either."

"What nonsense are you speaking?" the terrorist said before shaking away those thoughts. "Doesn't matter. I'll just kill you and rid you from my mind."

Louis rushed in and swung at Adam in a wide horizontal arc, which would be easy for him to block. So naturally he brought up his sword to clash with Louis', only to be surprised when Louis released his grip with his right hand, leaving the sword behind to fall. Adam's guard was now up too soon, as Louis grabbed the blade with his left hand that was lagging behind and followed through with the swing. Adam quickly shifted his footing to step into the strike and properly deflect it. Yet he hadn't forgotten about Louis' other hand. Bring up his scabbard, he prepared to fire off several rounds at Louis, only to be further surprised when Louis grabbed the end of the weapon with his palm covering the barrel. Adam fired regardless, and the bullets punched through Louis' hand and splattered his blood over his arm. But Louis refused to let go of the scabbard. Firing again, Louis finally released his grip when his right hand was little more than a mangled mess of flesh and bone.

As the two separated, Adam gazed at Louis in confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you? You must be some kind of idiot to try taking my weapon."

Louis shook his head in amusement. "I'll have you know that I am the most educated member of my group. So it would be wise of you to not underestimate my intelligence."

Still, regardless of how Adam saw it, Louis had just sacrificed one of his hands in a futile attempt to disarm him. There was no way he would lose now. Thus he was the one to take initiative. Adam returned his blade to its sheath in preparation for his final attack. It wasn't an ideal amount, but he had enough power stockpiled for this last attack.

He stepped forward at the same moment that Louis did. Adam was certain that his next attack would kill Louis. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind. Everything had been setup for his victory... Yet why did Louis not hesitate in the slightest?

It was only after Adam pulled the trigger did he realize why. His gun failed to go off, and his sword remained sheathed. Quickly glancing down, he saw the problem; it was clogged with blood. Louis' blood. The man had sacrificed his own hand in order to disable his weapon. These chaotic thoughts were spinning through Adam's head, all-the-while Louis continued on with his attack.

Adam was forced to bring the entirety of his weapon up to block. Which was exactly what Louis wanted.

Enduring Crimson clashed against Adam's weapon, and Louis sliced it down the length, right across Adam's fingers. His thumb was the only one spared, as the rest of his right hand fingers were lopped off at the second knuckle. Not satisfied with that, Louis twisted his blade and stabbed it forward at Adam's head. The terrorist was unable to dodge the entirety of the strike, as the sword sliced across his skin from just below his right eye, to the side of his head, where it cut across his ear.

The man screamed bloody murder as he wildly lashed out at Louis. However Louis knew when to leave well enough alone. The building was about to collapse and he needed to get out.

"Get back here you bastard!" Adam roared as Louis made his escape. He tried to chase after him, but a large wooden beam fell and blocked him from following. "You'll pay for this!"

Jumping out one of the windows, Louis quickly put distance between himself and the flaming mess he left behind. He could audibly hear his heart pounding in his chest, and looked down to see his hand was nearly finished regenerating.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to finish what we started when next we meet."

**(-)**

Nodding in satisfaction as another airship lifted off with the next load of evacuees, Yakumo took a moment to survey his surroundings and make sure the area was safe for the time being. Things had been a little hectic every now and then, but with him taking out the bigger opponents and leaving the cannon fodder for those behind him, he was able to hold the perimeter without anyone sustaining further injuries.

Occasionally another survivor would show up, courtesy of Louis, and he made sure they were covered during their approach. The majority of them only had minor injuries, but then he spotted another pair approaching who were in much worse condition. Two girls were slowly making their way over, or rather, one girl was carrying the unconscious body of the other who happened to be missing an arm.

"Blake! Yang!" he heard a couple of the teens behind him call out in concern.

Not wasting any time, Yakumo rushed over to help carry them the rest of the way, with even a couple of the others coming to aid him.

"Shit. You guys ain't looking too good." he remarked as he took the blonde girl into his arms, while the two who followed him helped to carry the other.

"Blake, what happened?!" the blonde-haired teen asked in worry. His concern increased further upon noticing the wound in the girls stomach. "Never mind! We gotta get you some medical attention!"

"N-no!" she argued as she tried to stand up straight despite her injury. "Yang needs the help more than I do!"

"This ain't the time for any martyr-type bullcrap." Yakumo remarked as he did his best to not jostle Yang too much. "You're both taking the next flight out and going straight to a medic."

"Wait! There's another guy still fighting back there! He's in serious danger!"

"Black hair, red eyes, and a gas-mask?" Yakumo listed off quickly.

"Yeah?" Blake answered in slight confusion. "That was him."

The revenant let out a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, that's Louis. He'll be fine."

Blake shook her head in denial. "No! You don't understand! The man he's fighting... He's a monster! Your friend doesn't stand a chance!"

"Like I said; don't worry." Yakumo replied as he gently placed Yang down on a soft patch of grass. "He's part of the same team as me. And we don't die that easily."

"YAKUMO! CATCH!"

Head snapping up upon hearing those words echo down to him, the red-head turned around and looked towards the tower just in time to spot someone plummeting from high above. Kicking off the ground with immense force, he sprinted across the courtyard so he was in a good position to catch whoever was falling. Though as they got closer, he noticed it was actually two people who were about to crash into his waiting arms. And fortunately, just as he had expected, Grey managed to apply his Gift to them so they didn't suffer from the fall. Yet his troubles were far from over, as one of the girls he caught had was unconscious with an arrow pierced in her chest, and the other was in a fit of hysterics.

"Calm down. I got you." he tried to say calmly.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!"

The girl was clearly in shock, probably from both the dying girl who was with her, and also the massive drop from up high. Yakumo would need to get Grey to apologize for traumatizing the poor kid.

"Ruby! Pyrrha!"

"Good. You know these two as well." the revenant remarked as the same teens from earlier came over to help.

The white-haired girl took Ruby out of his arms and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay Ruby. You're alright." she said soothingly in the hopes of calming the girl down.

"Anything else wanna happen before I take my next breather?" Yakumo remarked sarcastically as held Pyrrha in his arms. He wasn't a medical expert, but he knew enough that pulling out the arrow would do more harm that good.

A loud explosion was heard overhead, and the group looked up to see that Grey and whoever he was fighting were causing one hell of a light-show, as flames, ice, and electricity were flying everywhere.

"Well that doesn't bode well." came a familiar voice.

Turning to the side, Yakumo was greeted by the sight of Louis who was covered in blood.

"You still holding up?"

Looking over his friends condition, Yakumo snorted in response. "Evidently better than you."

"You should've seen the other guy."

"W-what? You actually beat him?" Blake questioned weakly once she spotted Louis approaching.

He shrugged. "That depends; can he regrow his fingers in a few days time?"

The girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "I-I don't... What?"

"Let's just say he's down a few fingers but also gained a nasty scar."

Any further discussion was brought to a halt as yet another explosion rocked the tower from up above, this time causing pieces of rubble to come crashing down.

"Jeez! What the hell's going on up there?" Yakumo wondered aloud.

"Whatever it is, I think it's best we make a hasty retreat, lest we get crushed by whatever chooses to fall down next." Louis answered as he helped shepard the group away from the building. "Grey is probably trying to hold back so he doesn't cause us any trouble for us."

Soon enough another airship flew in and touched down to pick up the next group of evacuees. One by one the injured were loaded on board, with Yang and Pyrrha receiving extra care. With the ship filled to capacity, it took off back towards the city, leaving behind Yakumo, Louis, and the last few stragglers.

"I think this is the last of the survivors here." Louis opined as glanced towards the tower once more. The structure would be coming down soon, and was liable to crush anyone who was still beneath it when that happens. It would be prudent of them to leave asap.

"Most likely." Yakumo agreed. "Now all we need to do is hold this position until our ride comes."

"That's a lot easier said than done. Plus you probably just jinxed us."

"Do you really believe in that nonsense?"

"I believe in things going wrong at the worst possible time."

As it turned out, Louis' concerns weren't unfounded, as the dragon flew overhead once more, but this time it dropped off a new wave of beasts for them to deal with.

"... Don't say a word." Yakumo grumbled as he lifted Onislayer over his shoulder.

"Heh, wasn't going to."

The duo charged forward to meet the enemy head on. Yakumo already had his sword held behind him, so he clashed against the enemy by cleaving the first three Grimm in half. Louis was quick to follow his friends initiative, as his blood veil had activated, turning his arm into a massive claw. The razor-sharp fingers buried themselves into the torso of one of the larger beasts, one that looked reminiscent of a gorilla. And yet it refused to die. Louis was forced to rip his hand free and duck underneath a wild haymaker before plunging his claw into the beast once again, this time just below the armpit. It howled in anger, only to be silenced as Louis swung his claw outward, pulling a good chunk of the beasts innards with it. At the same time, Yakumo was making quick work of the more numerous Grimm that chose swarm tactics instead. Short Grimm that resembled two-legged lizards were stomped underfoot, while the bear-like ones were swiftly decapitated.

Yet despite how many they killed, the enemies numbers didn't seem to be reducing. The dragon was constantly dropping in more and more of them, turning it into a battle of attrition.

Once again the tower shook, and the two revenants looked up to see what basically amounted to a glacier jutting out the side of it. That was cause for concern.

"Uh, Louis?"

"Run!"

"My thoughts exactly!"

Numerous chunks of the tower were now raining down on the area, fortunately burying some of the Grimm underneath. However that didn't stop it from being a danger to everyone else.

"What is your friend doing up there?!" shouted one of the few teen who were left with them. "He's gonna topple that thing on us!"

"Which is why we need to get the hell outta here right now! Where's the damn airship?!"

"What about your friend?!"

"He's survived worse!"

Fortune decided to smile upon them, as moments later said vehicle came swooping in. In fact, it was the same one that brought the revenants over to begin with.

"Long time no see!" the pilot greeted.

"Skip the pleasantries! We gotta get out of here!" Yakumo shouted as he jumped on board and helped the last of the survivors in.

"Is that everybody?!"

"Yes, now go! That tower is about to come down on top of us!"

The doors to the ship quickly closed as it lifted off the ground and pulled away from the Beacon docks. It was just in time too, as the passengers looked out the window to watch as Beacon tower came crumbling down on top of where they were.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, well, well... It seems that we have a new chapter here~. Not that I really care, but Author-baka is quite pleased with this chapter."

**(-)**

_In order to surpass the limitations of the human body, Revenants must sacrifice that which makes them human. In exchange, they become stronger, faster, and more powerful than any man could ever hope to become. But the question still remains; does this make them less than human, or something more?_

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For his entire life -if it could even be called that- Grey saw himself as little more than a leech. An insignificant parasite whose only chance at survival was to take from others. Sure, none who he took from would suffer any adverse effects, but that didn't change the fact that everything he has, everything he is, was either given to him or something he took from others. Not a single aspect of his existence was earned or even there to begin with. His powers? All copied from the blood codes of his fellow revenants. His combat skill? Simply mimicking the styles he learned from others memories. Even his identity was born from the parting will of Cruz, who still slumbers deep within his mind.

This aspect of his nature is even apparent in his personality, as he would copy the attitude and mannerisms of those around him. When he first awoke as a Successor he initially began to mimic Io, causing him to act rather passive and subservient. It was for this reason that he was so willing to go along with his captors demands. Oliver was not present long enough for Grey to mimic, so the next major influence was Louis. The mans inquisitive nature sparked a thirst for knowledge in Grey, which made him eager to go out and explore the city. All-the-while Cruz's desire to save the Revenants continued to subtly exert its influence and steer him towards said goal. Whenever Grey needed to be snarky or jovial, he'd copy Yakumo. If a situation called for a more serious approach, it was Coco who he took cues from.

Sure, over time he managed to cobble together a somewhat proper 'identity' for himself, but it didn't change the fact that not a single aspect of his person was original. Even his name was something given to him by someone else.

When he was first brought back as a Revenant, it was during a more hectic era in the gaol where no one could spare any time to help the newcomers adjust and figure out their original identities. If you remembered your name when you woke up, then they handed you a weapon and pushed you out the door. If you couldn't remember your name, they'd give you a temporary one and then hand you a weapon and push you out the door. At the time, the government was desperate to create soldiers to fill the ranks, so learning to fight was prioritized over learning your name.

Say what you will, but Grey found his name to be rather appropriate. The name of a color that doesn't stand out, but doesn't quite blend into the background either. Undefined, neutral, balanced. Perfect for someone who was essentially a blank canvas.

Most would assume that such scenarios would lead to some kind of existential crisis for him, that he would stop and question where 'he' ends and the 'others' begin. But Grey was never one to care about things like that. For the bearer of the Queen's blood, all that mattered was making use of the skills he obtained in order to do what needed to be done. And what he needed to do was defeat the woman in front of him.

The two combatants remained unnaturally still, each waiting to see who would make the first move. It ended up being Grey who took initiative, needing to defeat the woman as soon as possible in order to bring a stop to her attack on the city. Rushing forward, Grey kept his body low in order to make himself a smaller target. The small conflagration in the woman's hand snapped forward and formed into a surge of flames poised to consume Grey and burn him alive. However a quick application of a Gift to shield him from the flames allowed him to dive through the fire and emerge from the other side unscathed. A pair of swords formed in his opponents hands as he performed an overhead swing. His weapon was deflected to the side, but he made use of the redirected momentum to spin 180 degrees and launch a kick below the woman's guard. The lack of an impact was a sign that his attack failed to connect, but Grey was already going through the motions of his next move.

_Code shift; Demeter._

Running his free-hand along the length of Memento, the blade was coated in lightning, and as his foot returned to the ground, he spun on his heel and lunged forward for a high-voltage palm strike to his retreating opponent. The woman had backed out of Grey's immediate range, but wasn't far enough away that he couldn't close the distance between them. A blade of lightning met with blades of glass, with the woman somehow managing to withstand the strength behind Grey's sword. However his palm strike managed to pass under her guard, allowing him to just barely touch her before her elbow dropped down and knocked his hand away. It became evident that despite making contact with her torso, Grey's attack only managed to give her a little shock. Kicking upwards, the woman brought forth another swath of flames to both attack Grey and conceal herself from view. Flipping backwards, Grey avoided getting singed and quickly prepared for their next clash. Reaching into his hip-pouch, he pulled out a couple vials of ichor concentrate and crushed them in his hand, allowing the substance to seep into his blood through the small cuts.

"Alright Murasame, time to test out the new modifications." Grey muttered to himself as he pulled on the trigger attached to Memento's handle. As per its usual transformation the blade split down the middle, however it then proceeded to extend the length of the lower half-blade by a few inches while the swords hilt folded in and shifted up the weapons length to form a makeshift foregrip. All it took was a few seconds for Memento to be transformed from a sword into a rifle.

Taking aim, Grey fired several wild shots through the fire in an attempt to keep the enemy pressured. Moments later the flames abated, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Warning alarms blared in Grey's mind courtesy of his Active IFF, alerting him to the presence above him. Looking up, he spotted his opponent falling towards him with her bow drawn and three arrows notched on it. The ominous glow from the tips of the arrows did not bode well for Grey's health. Taking a page out of Louis' book, Grey turned to mist and dashed backwards just as the arrows struck the floor, resulting in a powerful explosion that left a large hole in the ground.

"Guard of Honor!" Grey shouted as he raised his arm, causing numerous large chunks of ice to form in the air behind him. The chunks then twisted in shape to form lances which then proceeded to hurl themselves at the woman.

Swiping her hand in front of her, the woman conjured several explosive blasts of fire that knocked the ice-lances of course and sent them crashing into the already debris-littered room. Landing with a certain grace that implied she wasn't the least bit pressured, the woman gazed at Grey with a condescending smile plastered on her face.

"I must say, you are quite a bit more impressive than I originally thought you'd be." she opined as flames began to rise from the floor around her, forming a protective barrier. "Though now that I posses the full power of the Fall Maiden, you can't hope to emerge from this fight victorious."

Grey took a firm grip of his sword, pulling the trigger to shift it back into sword form. "That remains to be seen."

"Hmph, well aren't you the confident one, and with a modicum of power to back it up. I suppose I could reward your skill with a small consolation prize, as I'm sure you'd like to know the name of the person who is about to kill you." she responded as she split her bow into a pair of swords. "You stand against the rightful bearer of the power of the Fall Maiden; Cinder Fall."

Lowering his sword and holding it in a reverse-grip, Grey switched gears to a different combat style.

_Code Shift; Hermes._

"I don't know what that title means, so I doubt you'll recognize my own, but still I will tell you it." Grey spoke as his gaze narrowed on his target. "I am the Successor of the Blood; Queenslayer Grey."

Not allowing Cinder any time to ponder what his introduction meant, Grey crossed the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye. His sword shot forward, aimed at the small opening near Cinder's left hip, but the sudden upward eruption of the flames surrounding the woman caused him to flip backwards and out of range. A moment later, the fire surged forward as a massive wall of flames that was set to crash over him like a tidal wave.

_Code Shift; Fionn._

Enhancing his physical strength with ichor, Grey stomped down on the floor with such immense force, that the ground buckled and began to tilt. A large section of the room's floor was spun at a 90 degree angle, creating a wall between Grey and the fire. However this also caused the structure to further destabilize, resulting in the floor they were on completely collapsing to the next room down. Cinder looked genuinely surprised at the feat of strength, but quickly cooled her expression back to normal. Numerous chunks of stone debris floated in the air around Cinder as she fell and caught fire, before shooting off like mini-meteors with Grey as their target.

_Code Shift; Isis._

Thrusting his palm forward, Grey launched a volley of orbs charged with voltaic energy to intercept the burning chunks of slag that were barreling towards him. Lightning met with fire and the resulting explosions shook the already compromised integrity of the current floor, as well as filled the air with a thick smoke. Using his heightened senses, Grey was able to track down Cinder's location and rushed forward. Cleaving horizontally through the smog, Grey finally felt his weapon make contact with his enemy, scoring a hit across Cinder's flank. The woman grunted in pain but quickly countered with a fiery explosion at point-blank range. With the entirety of its force directed at Grey, the blast was able to send him tumbling away with some burns as souvenirs. Recovering his posture, Grey raised his hand and prepared to fire off another attack into the fading smoke.

"Fourfold Verdict!"

Lightning crackled at Grey's fingertips before coalescing into several blobs of energy that floated in the air. Though Fourfold Verdict wasn't the fastest in terms of projectile speed, it made up for that by tracking its target and preventing them from staying put unless they wanted to suffer a massive shock.

A small glint of light was reflected from one of the nearby burning fires, and Grey turned his head to the side at the last moment to avoid the arrow aimed at his head. However the glass construct did manage to trace a cut across his forehead.

"Can't you use a gun like a normal person?" Grey grumbled in annoyance. "Bows are too quiet."

"Now why would I do that?" Cinder replied with a hint of amusement in her tone as she circled around Grey to avoid his lightning. "If I can kill my opponent before they even realize I'm there, then it makes my job that much easier."

Making some gestures with her hands, Cinder launched a salvo of fireballs at Grey while continuing to strafe across the room. Grey raised his blade and used it to cut down the numerous projectiles before they could hit him, but briefly paused when he felt the ground beneath him heat up. A quick glance to the floor and Grey realized that the fireballs were a distraction.

_Code Shift; Atlas!_

A massive conflagration erupted from beneath Grey's feet and swallowed him whole. Cinder wasn't satisfied with just that however, and continued her assault by firing off even more fireballs to add to the blaze. As the flames continued to grow in size, Cinder drew her bow once more, but this time it was notched with an arrow that was tipped with a wind dust crystal. The arrow was loosed and was engulfed in the flames, only to violently exploded a moment later and turn the wildfire into a blazing hellstorm. Cinder was confident that Grey had surely perished in the attack, but she felt something was off. Where were his screams of agony from being burned alive?

Before the blaze had even began to die down, a projectile came flying out from its depths and was poised to skewer Cinder. Bringing her swords up, the Fall Maiden managed to deflect Memento upwards, however this left her chest unguarded. Grey emerged from the fire moments later, his face covered in burns and with flames still clinging to his outfit. Spittle flew out of Cinder's mouth as Grey drove his elbow into her gut with incredible force, which knocked her off her feet and sent her staggering backwards several meters.

Snapping her gaze up to glare at her opponent, Cinder noted that Grey's burns were already healing at a considerable rate, meaning he must still have plenty of Aura in reserve. Catching his blade as it dropped down from its impromptu flight, it was clear that Grey was far from finished.

The floor cracked and trembled beneath them. It would seem as if their battle would last until the tower itself collapses.

**(-)**

Kurt Redmund took a deep breath to calm himself as he pressed his body against the wall for cover. It had only been several months since he joined up with the Vale branch of the White Fang, and prior to this assault hadn't taken part in any live combat. He had been mostly delegated to menial labor and the like, but with how major of an operation this attack was, his superiors decided it was time for 'all hands on deck' and armed every last member for battle. Kurt was still trying to keep his excitement jitters in check from having lost his 'battle virginity', but was finding it increasingly difficult to do so with each human he gunned down.

"Fucking humans. This is what you pieces of shit get for opposing the White Fang!" he muttered to himself with a manic grin beneath his mask.

Reaching into his vest pocket, Kurt pulled out a fresh ammo clip for his AR and replaced the empty one with it. Pulling back the slide, he was rewarded with the satisfying *click* of the next bullet sliding into the chamber. Casting a glance to his side, he spotted his two squadmates struggling to do the same with the ease that he did.

"Hurry it up already!"

The first of his companions nearly dropped the ammo clip he was holding before finally managing to jam it in place, while the other guy was having trouble pulling back the slide.

"We are! Stop rushing us!"

Kurt clicked his tongue. "Do I look like I care? We gotta keep moving! That damn evac point has to be somewhere nearby if all this VTOL traffic is anything to go by." he barked in response with a sense of urgency.

The White Fang grunt figured that by finding where all the wounded and civilians were being evacuated to, killing a bunch of humans would be a rather simple matter. Maybe if he got a high enough kill count, he might even get a promotion in the organization. So it was that his overconfidence and reckless ambition led him to grab a couple of his fellow grunts and drag them along in his search, despite going against orders. Besides, once he was successful it wouldn't matter how much trouble he would have been in as the higher ups would no doubt praise him for his actions.

"I still think this isn't a very good idea." one of his companions grumbled as he peeked around the corner to look for hostiles. "Why did I agree to go along with this insanity? Even if we find the place, we'll definitely be outnumbered."

"Quit your whining!" Kurt responded with an audible growl. "They won't be in any condition to fight, especially if we get the drop on them."

Switching positions with the other faunas, Kurt took point as he stuck his head out from cover to check the street for enemies. The block looked clear so he gestured for his pals to follow.

"C'mon, we must be getting close."

Exiting their cover, the trio made haste as they traversed the open ground to the next piece of viable cover. Keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of movement, Kurt was certain that the enemy had yet to notice them, despite how close they must have been to the evac point. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked on his buddies to make sure they were keeping up with him. A muffled *bang* was heard in the distance, and Kurt almost missed seeing a cloud of red mist explode out the back of the head of the guy who was pulling up the rear. It was a clean headshot that pierced through the paltry amount of Aura that the grunt possessed. He was as good as dead the moment the shot was fired.

Alarm bells began ringing something fierce in Kurt's head, and adrenaline was rapidly pumped into his bloodstream as he rushed for cover behind an overturned car.

"Sniper!" he shouted in warning for all it was worth, as his only remaining companion had already ducked behind a pile of rubble.

"Oh god! What the hell just happened?!" the man shouted in panic.

"Calm the fuck down! It's a sniper!" Kurt answered in aggravation. He was less concerned about the death of his companion and more annoyed that they'd been spotted. "Marlowe, did you see where the shot came from?!"

"S-shit! Carmine's dead! They fucking killed him!"

"I said calm down!" Kurt roared in anger as the man started to lose it.

"He was right! We never should've done this! Now we're gonna die here!" the faunas cried as he dropped his gun and held his head, trying to block out what was happening.

Grabbing a rock off the ground, Kurt threw it at Marlowe to get his attention back. "Focus already! We can get through this alive! Just follow my orders!"

"Your orders are what got us here in the first place!"

Another gunshot went off, and the car that Kurt was hiding behind shook from the impact of the projectile, causing the faunas to startle. The sniper was trying to provoke a reaction.

Kurt cursed under his breath before ripping off the rear view mirror from the car. Holding it out, he managed to angle it to safely reflect the view from down the street. He spotted a four-story building that would be a viable sniper position, but couldn't confirm it as the mirror was shot out of his hand a moment later.

"Shit!" he cried in alarm as he tossed away the remnants of the mirror.

"We're dead men! That sniper is gonna kill us the moment we try to run!"

"Then we don't fucking run!" Kurt responded as he tightened his grip on his weapon. "Let's kill this bastard!"

He tried to muster up some courage in the hopes that Marlowe would get at least slightly riled up, but the man sat in place crying and begging for forgiveness for all the bad he's done.

"I'm sorry! My mom was right, joining the White Fang was a mistake! Please forgive me, I didn't realize what I was doing! This isn't what I wanted to happen!"

Kurt clicked his tongue in disdain. Marlowe would be of absolutely no help whatsoever. It was all up to him at this point. Turning back was not an option, as he would just get shot, so all he could do was press onward. Taking a deep breath, Kurt decided on his course of action. The sniper had to be in that four-story building. If he unloaded an entire clip at it he might get lucky and hit them, or at the very least force them to take cover for a moment. More than enough time for him to switch positions.

"Alright you prick! Let's do this!"

Rising from cover, Kurt quickly aimed towards the target building and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked from the recoil, but he still managed to keep it steady enough to pepper the building with bullets. Soon the magazine was empty, and the sniper had yet to shoot back. Kurt smirked in satisfaction.

"Hah! How do you like that you-!"

Marlowe heard a *bang* in the distance, followed shortly after by the sound of Kurt's body collapsing to the ground. Now it was just him. Marlowe sat behind his cover in relative silence for what seemed like hours, but was actually about a minute. He thought back on his life and all the decisions he had made which led to his current situation. It felt as if this sniper was tasked with the duty of enacting his punishment.

Knowing that there wasn't anyway for him to escape with his life, the faunas resigned himself to death and slowly stepped out from cover. If he was going to die, he'd rather hurry up and get it over with instead of spending his last moments suffering in mental anguish due to fear. Kneeling down in the center of the street, Marlowe removed his mask and placed it on the ground in front of him and waited for the end to come.

One final *bang* echoed through the streets.

**(-)**

Lowering her rifle, Mia released a small sigh as she watched the White Fang soldier somberly walk back to the direction he came from, albeit without his mask, which now had a massive hole in it. She didn't like having to kill people, but it wasn't something she was unfamiliar with. During her time spent in the Gaol she killed her fair share of Revenants, some of which were unable to revive as a result of their hearts being destroyed. But here, it was unsettling how the corpse of the person she just killed remained behind, serving as a reminder to what just happened. Lost and Revenants never left behind anything substantial, which made it easy for her when travelling with fake-Nicola. No need to shelter the child from the violence around them if there was no evidence of said violence ever having occurred.

But just because she was used to it, didn't mean she liked having to do it. Still, it was either her or them, and she had people counting on her to protect them. If these terrorists showed no signs of remorse for the killing of innocent civilians, then it made it that much easier for her to steel her heart and pull the trigger.

A loud roar shifted her attention and she leaned out from behind the chimney she was using for cover to get a clear look at the source. The massive dragon that was circling the skies above the city had made an abrupt change from its usual flight pattern and was no headed straight for the tower in the distance; the same tower where her friends were at.

"Damn it." she cursed softly under her breath. She had an ominous feeling that things were about to get much worse for everyone around the tower, as she had already witnessed the flying monstrosity spawn even more beasts from its blood.

Glancing about her surroundings to confirm that the area was clear, Mia then reached into her hip-pouch and pulled out a needle which she proceeded to prick her finger with. A sense of being turned into thousands of particles of dust before flying off through the air assaulted her, causing a fair amount of dizziness before her body reformed back at the evac point where Murasame was.

Shaking the slight feeling of nausea from her head, Mia quickly made her way over to the orange-haired girl just as she was finishing up work on repairing a bullhead.

"Try giving the the engine another go!" she shouted to the pilot.

"Still nothing!"

Murasame grumbled an obscenity under her breath before kicking the vehicle on the side with enough force to shake the entire chassis. Moments later the engine roared to life.

"Murasame!" Mia called out as she joined up with her fellow Revenant. "We might have a slight problem."

"Aside from everything else going on?" the slightly shorter girl responded as she gather her tools together.

Nodding, Mia gestured towards the tower. "That dragon is acting up. And it's heading straight for the others." she answered grimly. "I know the guys are strong, but I'm still worried."

"I understand where you're coming from, but we need to trust in their capabilities. They're counting on us to stay safe down here." the former gymnast replied, albeit with her own sense of worry seeping into her voice.

However Mia wasn't paying attention to her. The blonde's gaze was fixed on the tower in the distance, her eyes widening in horror as the structure started to come crashing down in a shower of debris the size of a small house.

"Oh god..." she muttered weakly as she raised a hand to cover her heart as a pang of fear shot through it.

Murasame quickly turned to see what had her friend spooked, only to match the girls own look of horror with her own upon seeing the tower crumble and fall. Sparing only a few moments longer to come to terms with what was happening, the orangette dashed over to the recently repaired bullhead and clamored inside.

"Mia! Get over here!" she shouted before addressing the pilot. "Get us over to that tower!"

Looking over his shoulder the pilot managed to catch the tail-end of the collapse, as well as take notice of the obviously enraged dragon that was flying around the ruins.

"No way in hell am I getting near that thing!" the man responded as he flipped several switches to initiate a take-off. "If you want to go on a suicide mission, find another airship-!"

The pilot abruptly stopped his tirade when the business end of a rifle was pointed at his face. "Tough luck, we want this one." Mia spoke with steel in her voice that left no room for negotiation.

"Y-you can't make m-!"

A vice-like grip found purchase on the back of the pilots neck with strength that belied the stature of the hands owner.

"Our friends are up there, and if anything happens to them, I'll have your head." Murasame spoke with uncharacteristic anger. "I'm not losing anyone ever again."

Feeling that his voice might betray him, the pilot silently nodded his head, even as the grip on his neck remained strong.

**(-)**

Grey had to admit, Cinder was quickly proving to be just as tough an opponent as Mido was, especially with her constant fire manipulation. Sure, Grey had to restrain himself somewhat in order to ensure the tower didn't collapse and kill everyone below, but that didn't mean having access to his full power would simplify the fight. Cinder was cunning, keeping near-constant pressure on the Revenant with hit-and-run tactics while also utilizing feints and distractions to hide her 'true' attacks. Not to mention that since the woman was human she lacked ichor and thus what strikes Grey managed to land against her did nothing to replenish his supply. He was also down to his last vial of ichor concentrate, so he'd need to exercise caution with his next few Gifts lest he need to draw upon his own life-force to continue using them.

Dragging his blade through the ground beneath him, Grey ripped Memento upwards and flung a mess of rubble at Cinder who swiftly dived out of the way. The woman raised a hand full of hellfire and unleashed a concentrated stream in Grey's direction. Lacking the necessary space to dodge due to the large piles of rubble that fell from the previous floor, Grey stomped on the already weakened ground and fell down to the next level of the tower. It turned out to be not the smartest move to make, as now the ceiling of his current floor began to glow with the telltale sign of Cinder's power, moments before it exploded downward in a torrent of shrapnel comprised of superheated metal and stone. The Revenant had a feeling that he had just fallen for a trap that Cinder devised on the fly. Grey was forced to grit his teeth and weather the omni-directional barrage as best he could. After several agonizing seconds of being pelted by debris, Grey was given a momentary respite which he used to inject a regen inducer to help speed up his healing process.

"I do have to hand it to you, you are putting up a much better fight than what your boss managed to muster." Cinder gloated as she floated down to the same floor that Grey was on. "Time must have really gotten to the old fool. At least you are giving me some good exercise with my new power."

Grey let out a huff of amusement. "Thanks for the compliment." he responded dryly. "But I hope you don't expect one in return from me."

"Well aren't you rude?" the woman remarked as she began circling the room from the opposite side, causing Grey to do the same in order to maintain distance. "Not as rude as that old crow however. That damn bird interrupted me during a very important meeting."

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

There was a moment of silence between the two, interrupted only by the sound of battle coming from the base of the tower. Then a massive shadow sped past the side of the tower behind Cinder, the air pressure from its flight pounding against the windows with enough force for them to explode inwards in a veritable shotgun spray of glass. Grey stabbed the ends of his mantle into the floor, only for them to emerge as a wall of blades that shielded him from the shrapnel. He could hear the sound of rapid footsteps as Cinder was already rushing him for a follow-up. Retracting the blades from his veil, Grey kicked off the ground and intercepted Cinder's rush, swinging his own sword in a wide arc to extend his reach. The woman skidded to a halt, but not before Memento sliced across her forearm, although it had yet to draw blood. Grey's minor victory was short-lived, as the smirk on Cinder's face warned him that she wasn't done yet. Ducking her head, the Fall Maiden revealed the arrow that hung in the air which was concealed behind her.

Grey mentally cursed the woman once more. He was far too used to fighting relatively mindless Lost, not people with the intelligence to think ten steps ahead. Bringing Memento up to guard, the arrow impacted the blade and detonated in a violent blast that sent Grey flying backwards and out one of the broken windows.

"Shit!"

Calling upon what little ichor he had left the Revenant created a pillar of ice behind him, allowing him to kick off the construct and launch himself back into the tower through a window another floor down. He estimated he had about five seconds tops before Cinder realized he wasn't dead and dropped down to continue their battle. Glancing out the window he entered through, Grey noticed that only Yakumo, Louis, and a handful of other survivors were left below. Their evacuation was nearly complete and he could see another airship in the distance that was headed their way.

"Alright then." Grey muttered as he crushed the last vial of ichor he had. He'd just have to hope they escaped before the tower came crashing down.

A thunderous crash came from behind him, and Grey slowly turned to glare at the woman who was causing him so much trouble. Cinder stood in the center of the room, looking slightly winded from their fight with how long it was dragging on, but still maintained a sense of confidence that she would win. Flames began to rise behind her, giving her a rather menacing appearance as her eyes glowed in the shadows that were cast.

"You are proving to be surprisingly hard to kill." she remarked, finally starting to sound a little annoyed.

Grey chuckled. "Lady, you don't know the half of it." he replied as he focused his mind for what he was about to do. "But I think it's about time we end this."

Cinder smirked. "I couldn't agree more~." she spoke as the flames grew behind her.

"Tell me Cinder; have you ever seen a _real_ monster?" Grey asked as his eye color changed from pale-red to a glowing deep blue while his sclera turned black.

_Code Shift; Queen._

The woman's eyes widened in both surprise and alarm, even before the temperature dropped and hoarfrost gathered at the tips of Grey's fingers.

"WHAT?! How do you have that power?!"

Deigning not to answer her question, Grey held his hand aloft with his palm pointed at Cinder.

"**Baba Yaga's Gaze!"**

Cinder thought she knew cold. However not even the frigid nights on Atlas' icy-waste's could compare to what she was feeling right now. She couldn't breathe for fear of her lungs freezing. She couldn't feel the frost that crawled across her skin. She couldn't see anything but white. It was almost as if she was in the cold embrace of Death itself.

Something snapped.

"NO!"

A roaring blaze erupted as Cinder expended a massive portion of her reserves to escape her prison of ice. Her chest heaved as she drank in the air after having been starved of it. The cold sweat dripping down her body was indistinguishable from the frigid water that coated her, even after the explosion of heat. Taking a shuddering breath, Cinder leveled her gaze at Grey, though her vision was currently blurred. The Revenant had dropped to one knee, evidently just as exhausted as she was.

That was the closest Cinder had come to death in a very long time, and she wasn't keen on experiencing it again. Forcing herself to her feet, Cinder staggered into a sprint as the tower trembled and collapsed around her. Stabbing her glass-sword forward, the tip of the blade was plunged into Grey's chest and emerged out his back. Finally feeling as if the battle was over, Cinder dropped her guard and loosened her grip on her sword.

A hand snapped up and grabbed her by the arm with a firm grip. Cinder could almost see the smirk beneath Grey's mask. Pulling hard, Grey dragged the woman out the window with him, both of them falling through the air as the tower came crashing down.

Grey had expected for that to be the end of things. A few moments of weightlessly falling through the air followed by near instantaneous death upon colliding with the ground. It upset him that he had to resort to a literal suicide tactic to defeat his enemy, but Cinder was someone that needed to be dealt with. However the drop came to a sudden end much sooner than expected, and Grey found himself tumbling about after smashing into what felt like concrete. The ground beneath him felt as if it were spinning and left him feeling very disoriented. Stabbing Memento into the ground, Grey brought his flailing about to an end, which allowed him to regain his bearings. Powerful winds buffeted his form as he forced his eyes open, surprised to see that he was still high above the city, albeit moving at an outrageous speed.

Against all odds, Grey and Cinder both had landed on the back of the massive dragon that had been circling the tower. Steadying his footing, Grey turned his gaze up to meet the burning glare of Cinder who was also struggling to maintain her poise while riding the beast. Pain began to assault the Revenants chest as his senses caught up to the fact he had been stabbed. Lifting his free-hand up, Grey grasped the handle of the sword and proceeded to yank the weapon out of his chest cavity. Cinder stared with widened eyes in equal parts shock and intrigue as the hole in Grey's chest slowly began to close.

"You aren't human..." she remarked in disbelief, Grey still managing to hear her despite the roaring winds around them.

"I never said I was." he responded as he tossed the glass-sword away.

Raising her remaining sword, Cinder was on-guard even more than before. "Just what are you?"

The Revenants eyes seemed to gaze far into the distance at the question, as if he were trying to remember an answer that he had long forgotten. Coming up blank, he gave a somber chuckle. "I honestly have no idea at this point." he answered as he readied his sword. "Just another in a long line of walking corpses."

An uncomfortable silence was shared by the two, neither knowing how exactly to continue their fight while riding on top of a dragon. The decision was taken out of their hands however, when their impromptu mount banked to the left and caused the 'ground' beneath them to shift. Stumbling for only a moment, Grey ran across the back of the dragon and took a swing at Cinder. Both opponents swords clashed in a shower of sparks, the force behind the collision causing them to lose their footing slightly. Grey stumbled backwards, allowing Cinder to jump towards him and bring her blade down from above. Redirecting the attack to the side with Memento, the Revenant followed up with a backflip and kicked Cinder in the chest. Letting out a pained cough, Cinder channeled what little power she had left to steady herself in the air and threw her last explosive arrow at Grey. Due to interference from the wind the arrow missed the Revenant, but careened off to the side before detonating. The shock wave was enough to cause Grey to stumble, but it also resulted in the dragon flapping its wings to get rid of its passengers.

Grey was bucked into the air and nearly fell clear off his ride, but managed to stab Memento into the beasts tail and remain airborne. He then waited for the tail to flick upwards, which let him fling his body forwards and towards a more steady foothold. Landing into a roll, Grey rushed to his feet and charged Cinder once more. It had become evident that the powers the two of them were using were pretty much exhausted, so the battle came down to a simple clashing of swords (if fighting on the back of a massive dragon could be considered simple).

The two fighters locked swords once again, only to break contact immediately and respond with another attack, and another, and another. What started out as a fight between two people who practically had the power of the elements at their fingertips, had devolved into a match to see whose swordplay was better. A deadly dance of blades filled with blocks, parries, and counters as each combatant fought to outlast the other. After a particularly fierce clash, the two skid away from one another to catch their breath.

Cinder scowled at Grey as she wiped some sweat out of her eye. "You have officially gone from being a simple nuisance to an outright threat." she growled in annoyance. "Even if you survive this, know that you will bring Her wrath down upon you and all you love."

Grey scoffed weakly. "Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?"

The woman smirked. "No, it's a promise."

"Well you can take that promise and shove it where the sun don't shine, 'cause I just figured out how I can win this."

"Oh? Do you feel like letting me in on your little strategy? We both may be out of power, but with this dragon I can ensure your defeat."

The tails of Grey's mantle came to life as they stabbed into the dragons back, right on a spot that wasn't covered in protective bone. "My power comes from the ichor of the Lost, including the Horrors that me and my friends have faced on our journey. The only reason for that to be possible, is if the Horrors and the Lost share some form of kinship."

Cinder raised a brow in confusion, as she had no idea what Grey was going on about.

"And given the course of events that led to the birth of the Revenants, it means that the Horrors were essentially our progenitors." he let out a mirthless chuckle as if having figured out some ironic truth that he didn't care for. "The red eyes when we use our powers, the thirst for human blood, dispersing into mist, it makes too much friggin sense."

Lowering his gaze, Grey's cold eyes locked onto Cinder's own.

"We were infected with the very thing we sought to defeat. The BOR parasite is a Horror. And that means,"

Ichor from the dragon was rapidly drained and poured into Grey. He activated the blade split on Memento to allow massive amount of blood to pour into it and greatly extend the blades length.

"that I can make the dragons strength my own!"

Raising his sword upwards, the blood-blade was now practically the length of the dragon itself.

"WHAT?!" Cinder shouted before rushing towards Grey. She needed to stop his attack.

"This is it! SANGUINE,"

Stabbing her sword into Grey's chest, Cinder was just short of reaching his heart as the blade came down.

"FALLS!"

Blood rained down from the heavens as the dragon was cleanly bisected, with Cinder and Grey falling on opposite halves. The Revenant could faintly hear Cinder cursing him as the distance between the two of them grew. He couldn't help but laugh. Even if he applied a Gift to soften his drop, plummeting from his current height would still likely result in death. So he simply closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"GREY!"

Only to have his eyes snap open upon hearing a familiar voice. Twisting his body mid-air, Grey spotted an airship that was on a direct course for his freefall. And leaning out the door of said airship was a familiar girl of incredible strength, yet diminutive size.

"YOU CRAZY IDIOT! GRAB MY HAND!" Murasame yelled as she reached out towards him.

Smiling behind his mask, the Revenant couldn't be prouder of the little blacksmith for the stunt she was pulling. Stretching out his arm, Grey took a firm grip of Murasame's hand and proceeded to be yanked inside the vehicle.

"That was the most insane thing you've ever done!" the orangette shouted in equal measures anger and concern. "What were you thinking?!"

Grey channeled a bit of Yakumo as he shrugged. "I was thinking it would look pretty awesome. Was I right?"

The girl snorted in amusement before she began pounding his chest in an attempt to maintain her anger. "Baka! Baka, baka, baka!" she began cursing in her native tongue. It wasn't long before she gave up on being angry and pulled Grey into a tight embrace.

Grey spotted Mia watching them from up front with the pilot, her eyes filled with jealousy. Now say what you want about Grey, but he is by no means some kind of oblivious moron. He wasn't like one of those protagonists in the Mistrali comics Louis reads that can't recognize when a girl is interested them. Nor is he an idiot like Yakumo who can't interpret Emily's feelings towards him. No, Grey was well aware that both Murasame and Mia held some form of romantic feelings for him. So it came as no surprise that Mia climbed out of her seat and joined in on the group hug. But since Grey was still mourning the loss of Io, he wanted to wait for the time being when it came to romance. Only when the girls decided to make an actual attempt would he respond.

As the trio sat there while the pilot flew back to the evac point, Grey felt a new power being added to his collection.

**Grim Menace Obliterated.**

_Blood Code Acquired; Siegfried._


	6. Chapter 6

"Wheeeee... Another chapter... If you don't like it then go write your own... The site could always use more Code Vein x-overs... Hope you enjoy... Dot, dot, dot..."

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She could hear a violent ringing reverberating through her head, causing her no shortage of wooziness and frustration. Just trying to block out the sound required great effort, only increasing the magnitude of the headache assaulting her mind. It was definitely a concussion, though it wasn't like anything she'd ever suffered before. Forcing her eyes open, she was greeted by the sight of a heavily blurred night sky. Closing them immediately, Cinder realized that her vision was also being hampered as a result of her injuries. Attempting to bring a hand up to wipe away the blood she could feel dripping from her nose and into her mouth, she found the strength needed to perform said action was missing. She let out a pained cough, her mouth being reacquainted with the taste of blood and dirt once more. A faint voice shouted out from beside her, but her hearing was still temporarily deafened from the world outside her mind. Someone used their fingers to pull open one of her eyelids and shine a bright light at the ocular receptor. Another voice shouted out, but she couldn't tell if it was the same person or not.

Letting her eyes rest, Cinder tried to force her Aura to hasten her recovery but could only frown upon noticing that her reserves were completely empty. A pair of arms looped underneath her shoulders and began pulling her backwards. Her body ached something fierce, feeling as if it had been repeatedly battered with a sledgehammer and then dropped from up high, only to then slam against the surface of a lake of freezing water.

'_Wait... Up high?'_

One of the voices shouted something, this time she could at least tell that it was female.

'_What happened?'_

Organizing her thoughts as best she could, Cinder tried to piece together the chain of events that led to her current status. There was the tower, the man that she fought, his eyes-

'_Those eyes!'_

Cinder quickly regretted her mental outburst, as it only served to worsen the pain in her head. The voice shouted again, evidently taking notice of the agony she accidentally inflicted upon herself. Her back was being dragged against the rugged asphalt below, causing her no shortage of discomfort. She needed to regain her bearings and get back up. Without the support of the Grimm, Cinder doubted the rest of the attacking forces would be able to hold out much longer. As such, it was imperative that she escape the city as soon as she could and return to Salem. Even with all she managed to accomplish, the arrival of the man known as Grey had thrown everything into disarray. Pushing herself up off the ground, it felt as if just lifting her body was an impossible task.

"Cinder! -ou n- sta- -wn! Don- -ov-!"

Finally she could start to make out the voices around her. It was definitely Emerald, though she was still having trouble hearing everything that was being said.

"Sh-! -st wha- -e He- -appe-?!"

"Quiet... down..." Cinder managed to cough out between pained breaths.

"Ma'am!" Emerald cried in concern. "I'm sorry, but you need to hold still! We'll get you out of here as soon as we can!"

"What she said, boss." Mercury agreed as he continued to drag Cinder along before propping her up against a wall. "You aren't exactly in what I would call 'mint condition'."

"I'll be fine..." Cinder grumbled as she wiped the blood from her mouth. "Just get me on my feet and we'll make our escape."

"Uhh... Ma'am?" Emerald said with obvious concern in her voice.

"What is it?" the Fall Maiden asked as turned a blurred gaze towards the girl.

"Well, about that..."

Cinder furrowed her brow in confusion at Emerald's tone.

"Don't look at me. I ain't telling her the bad news." Mercury said from his position opposite Emerald.

"What bad news?"

Letting out another heavy cough, Cinder's body jerked forward and shifted her field of view downwards. It was then that even through her still hampered vision, she spotted the problem.

"W-what?" she remarked in disbelief. "No... No, no, no..."

Her sense of pain was fully catching up with her, allowing her to properly feel her body's condition. Everything hurt, just as she expected. All except for her left leg...

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

... because everything from the mid-thigh down was gone.

**(-)**

The bullhead slowed to a halt as it landed at the evacuation site in the harbor district. Large warehouses had been repurposed into shelters and field hospitals, numerous trucks and other heavy vehicles had been parked to form improvised barricades that could easily be opened to let survivors pass through, and the various freight towers scattered about now played host to machine-gunners and snipers. Boats were pulling into the harbor and offloading supplies and evacuees from elsewhere in the city. All of this Grey could see even when they were still flying in from above, as well as spot the two remaining members of their group who seemed to be patiently waiting at the landing zone.

The three Revenants climbed out of the airship, causing the pilot to sigh in relief now that he was no longer being held hostage.

"So, everything go well on your end?" Grey asked as he walked over to his friends.

"More or less." Louis replied as he pulled an injector out of his hip-pouch and tossed it to Grey. "Catch."

The Queenslayer caught the vial with ease and proceeded to plunge the needle into his neck. He could already feel the cocktail of chemicals work their magic and restore his stamina.

"What about you?" Yakumo asked as he leaned on his swords handle. "Looks like you had a fair bit of fun." he remarked sarcastically.

Grey shrugged. "Hnn, just a lady who doesn't know when to take a hint. Way too clingy."

"Careful with how you phrase that." the red-head responded with a chuckle. "Don't want to be giving the two ladies of our group the wrong idea. They might get jealous~."

Both female Revenants were glad for the fact that they had their masks on, as they managed to conceal the blushes that formed on their cheeks.

"Jokes aside," Grey spoke up, choosing to ignore that tangent before it took hold. "how are things going down here?"

"Things are finally starting to calm down, for one." Louis answered as he turned his head to gesture towards the docks. "Evacuation's almost done. I was also informed by one of the local fighters that since you killed that flying menace, the number of Grimm in the city will finally start to dwindle, seeing as how that big guy was constantly spawning more of them."

"Grimm?"

"The name the locals use to collectively identify all of the 'Horrors' that we've been killing lately." Yakumo supplied helpfully.

"Grimm huh? Rather fitting."

"Anyway, without the support of the beasts the terrorists are starting to pull out en-masse. The military is now starting to systematically clear out the city, with the only real remaining threat being the robots scattered about." Louis explained as he removed his mask and wiped the sweat off his face. "Looks like the worst of it is over now."

"Thank god." Mia said with a sigh of relief.

Still, Grey wasn't going to call it quits just yet. He had one more thing to take care of. "What about the girls I rescued?"

Yakumo and Louis raised a brow at his question, but then realized the Successor felt somewhat responsible for ensuring they were safe.

"This way." Louis responded as he re-affixed his mask and turned and walked off.

Following the groups scholar, the gang of five entered one of the warehouses that had been turned into a makeshift field hospital. The men guarding the door acknowledged the group with a nod of the head but said nothing. Scanning the room with his eyes, it was relatively easy for Grey to pick out the black and red gothic dress of the girl he saved among all the people that filled the building.

Taking a step forward, Grey momentarily stopped when he felt Yakumo put a hand on his shoulder. "Be sure to apologize for tossing them off a skyscraper."

Taking heed of Yakumo's suggestion, Grey led his friends over towards the group where the girl who he saved was. The girl was leaning over a patients bed, her shoulders periodically hitching as an obvious reaction to her crying. A white-haired girl sat beside her with an arm holding her close to comfort her. As Grey drew closer, he noticed that they were sitting in front of a pair of cots that were occupied by a blonde girl who was missing an arm, and a black-haired girl whose stomach was wrapped in bandages. The blonde was currently unconscious while the dark-haired girl was barely staying awake, looking as if she were waiting for an opportunity to get up and leave before she went under. However the two boys on the opposite side of the beds made it difficult for her to do so, as the blonde kept a firm grip on one of her arms and the blue-haired one blocked her in.

The blue-haired teen adjusted the goggles on his head, which allowed him to catch sight of Grey and company. Evidently he recognized them -probably from the tower- and quickly tapped his buddy on the shoulder and pointed at them. Looking equally surprised as he blue-haired friend, the blonde stood up.

"Hey, that's them!" he exclaimed in recognition.

Looking over their shoulders, the two girls immediately spotted the Revenants. The girl with the red highlights stared at them in silence, her eyes noticeably shifting through a myriad of emotions before more tears spilled forth and she made a b-line for them. Utilizing speed that was unheard of for a human to possess, the girl tackled Grey with a hug. Her voice cracked as she attempted to sob out a proper thank you, the interaction throwing Grey for a loop as he had never dealt with 'kids' before. Despite his mind turning into a jumbled mess as he tried to think up an appropriate response, he did manage to produce one after a few moments.

"It's okay." he spoke as he pat the girl on the head as she continued to press her face into his chest. "The fighting's all over now."

Releasing her grip on his torso, the girl sniffled and wiped away the bit of snot dripping from her nose. "Thanks for getting us out of there."

Grey nodded. "No problem. Sorry I had to toss you off the building."

The white-haired girl standing behind Ruby stepped forward with a glare directed at Grey. "So, you're the one who sent my partner plummeting down from hundreds of feet in the air?" she asked as her hands balled into fists.

Letting out a sigh, the Revenant nodded. "I have a feeling you'll hit me regardless of my answer, so I might as well be honest. Yes, I threw her from the tower to get her to safety."

The girl struck a clean blow to the side of his head, with Grey not trying to resist or avoid the punch in the slightest.

"You utter bastard!" she shouted in rage. "How could you do such a thing to Ruby?!"

Rubbing at the point of impact, the Successor briefly closed his eyes in contemplation. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a mean right-hook?"

Another blow, this one causing Grey to stumble slightly to the side.

"And your left-hook ain't bad either."

The girl clicked her teeth in annoyance and readied herself for another punch, but stopped when she heard a snort of amusement from behind her. Turning to look over her shoulder, she noticed that Ruby was trying to hold back her giggles but was clearly failing to do so.

Grey faintly smiled behind his mask. The mood had lightened slightly at his wise-cracks.

"At the risk of getting hit again, can I ask how you all are doing?"

"That all depends." the blonde male replied somewhat tiredly. "Physically, mentally, or emotionally? 'Cause some of us are in better condition than the others." he stated as he gestured to the two wounded girls on the beds.

"If it's worth any consolation, I managed to maim the guy who attacked them." Louis remarked from the side.

The teen chuckled lightly. "Well at least there's some good news."

Suddenly Ruby was in front of Louis and pulled him into a hug similar to what she gave Grey. "Thank you for saving my big sister!"

"Glad I could help." Louis replied, silently trying to figure out which of the two girls were her sister.

"So you really beat Adam?" asked a tired voice. Turning to the source, Louis noticed it had been the same dark-haired girl that he had rescued from that Adam fellow. Their was clear doubt mixed in with her expression, though she also seemed to be mentally pleading that he was telling the truth.

Louis flexed his hand several times, recalling the incredibly risky and downright insane strategy he utilized to defeat the psychotic killer. "Considering that I'm standing here and no worse for the wear, I'd say that the victory went to me. I managed to lop off several of his fingers and give him a nice souvenir to remember me by." he explained as he ran a finger across his cheek from where Enduring Crimson sliced into Adam's face.

The girls face shifted through a myriad of conflicting emotions before going lax. She let out something akin to a chuckle before lying back down and muttering something under her breath. "He finally lost..."

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Grey decided to move the conversation along. Clearing his throat, the Revenant decided to address something that was concerning him. "What happened to the other girl?" he asked, worried that he couldn't spot the red-head he had rescued alongside Ruby.

The teens visibly flinched at the question, and Grey could tell something was wrong. Ruby's gaze was locked on the floor while her white-haired partner appeared conflicted, her own eyes darting towards a door that led to an adjacent section of the warehouse.

"She's-"

Suddenly the door swung open and an orange-haired girl dressed in white and pink emerged. "Ruby, Weiss! You have to get in here now!" she exclaimed in haste.

Even from a distance Grey was able to spot the tears that the girl was forcing back, though that did nothing to conceal the marks under her eyes from how much she had already been crying. The looks on the two girls faces were absolutely horrified, apparently already knowing why the girl was calling them over. Grey too had a good idea as to what just happened. Both girls immediately rushed over, leaving their male companions to remain behind with the injured pair.

Making a quick gesture, Grey instructed Yakumo and Murasame to stay put while he, Louis, and Mia followed after the girls. A brief jog down the hallway behind the door and the Revenants followed Ruby and Weiss into one of the separate rooms. Evidently the side rooms of the warehouse had been turned into makeshift surgery rooms for the more critically injured patients. And it was hard to get more critically injured than to take an arrow to the lung. Slowing to a halt, Grey was unsurprised by what greeted them.

Numerous voices were shouting, crying, and pleading for something to be done. Ruby was leaning over the bed and begging; 'Pyrrha, please don't die!'. Weiss was demanding that one of the surgeons 'do something', but they could only shake their head and apologize. The orange-haired girl was sitting on a chair and crying, her head leaning into the chest of the green-clad teen sitting next to her as he softly pulled her into an embrace. Stepping forward, Grey managed to get a clear view of the dying girl who he failed to save. Her armor and upper garments had been removed in order to perform surgery, leaving only a length of cloth to preserve her modesty. Though her eyes were closed she was still alive, but only barely, as the heart-rate monitor was rapidly slowing down.

"I'm sorry, but the arrow sliced into one of her arteries. There's nothing we can do at this point." one of the doctors explained with the clinical coldness that was expected of a professional.

Grey was afraid that that had been the case. If the arrow had only pierced her lung, then there was still a chance for her to be saved. But since it hit an artery, she was on borrowed time even before Grey tossed her from that tower. The Successor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was well aware that death is a certainty, and that no matter how much he tries to save others, he can only do so much. Still, he felt like this death was a result of his own personal failure. If he had just been a little bit faster he might have reached her before Cinder plunged that arrow into her chest.

'_Why is this happening? She's just a child.'_

Opening his eyes the Revenant noticed that things continued to progress during his moment of reflection; Weiss was demanding to know where someone named 'Jaune' was, Ruby was bawling her eyes out while slumped down at the side of the bed, and Pyrrha's heart had finally come to a stop.

'_Why can't I do anything to save her?'_

Grey idly noted that Mia had put a hand on his shoulder and tried shaking him to get his attention, while Louis asked something that he failed to hear. The noise around him was quickly being blocked out.

'_I made a promise, and now I've failed to uphold it yet again.'_

Something began to stir at the back of his mind.

_**Does that mean this is where you give up?**_

'_What else am I supposed to do?'_

_**You can still save her.**_

'_And how am I supposed to do that? She's already dead.'_

_**Bearer of the Blood, he who holds the power of the Queen...**_

_**The power to control the Lost...**_

_**The power to destroy the Lost...**_

_**The power to create the Lost...**_

_**It is not too late. Her blood still holds her memories, her thoughts, her will...**_

_**If she so desires it, she can be born anew...**_

Hardening his gaze, Grey walked over to Pyrrha's corpse and pulled out a throwing knife. Raising his hand, the rooms occupants watched in confusion and horror as he sliced across his palm and pressed his bloody hand against the hole in Pyrrha's chest.

**(-)**

The world around him was pitch black. It was so dark that even with his enhanced eyesight he was unable to see his hands as he held them out in front of him. However this darkness was only temporary, as soon after numerous lanterns began to fade into existence and provide a faint illumination to the surroundings. Casting his gaze skyward, he beheld the sight of what appeared to be a star-filled night sky. However the lights in the sky weren't stars, but rather memories. Each light in the sky represented a different memory that belonged to Pyrrha.

Grey was now within the mind of the recently deceased girl, with his current goal being to find her true consciousness somewhere within the labyrinth of her past. Taking a step forward, Grey made his way towards the nearest lantern in the hopes of making some progress. The world shifted around him, buildings and still images coming into existence to recreate a scene from Pyrrha's past.

He watched as a young red-headed girl who couldn't be older than six was being given a piggyback ride by a man with bright-red hair. Following right next to them was a woman with emerald-green eyes and midnight-black hair who was carrying a small basket and checkered blanket. The trio looked as happy as can be, going for a stroll through the park on what appeared to be a nice sunny day.

'_Even as a child, far from the worries of adulthood, I always knew what I wanted to do with my life. My father was a banker and my mother ran a small flower shop, neither of their families having any heritage of Huntsmen or Huntresses. Yet I quickly found the idea of fighting monsters to protect the weak as something inspiring, like one of the heroes from those flashy children's cartoons.'_

The scene shifted of its own accord, and Grey found himself strolling forward to keep up with the memory. This time it should a slightly older Pyrrha standing in front of a dog-eared girl who looked to be the same age that was cowering on the ground. Pyrrha stood in firm defiance between the girl and the trio of boys who were doing their best to look intimidating despite not even being in the double-digits in terms of age.

"_Leave her alone!" Pyrrha demanded as she glared at the bullies._

_The lead bully laughed. "Hah! And why should we do that? She's just a dumb animal!"_

"_Yeah! She ain't even human!" another bully added with a sneer._

_Pyrrha stomped her foot and yelled back. "So what?! She's still a person with feelings! Why does it matter if she has an extra pair of ears?!"_

"_Because that makes her a monster! And my daddy said that it's a Huntsman's duty to get rid of monsters!" the boy said as he puffed out his chest with pride. "And that's what I'm gonna be one day!"_

'_He was wrong. The duty of a Huntsman is to protect the people, no matter what the danger is. Even if it ended up being a racist bastard like himself.'_

Picking up his pace, Grey left the memory behind in favor of finding his target. The 'real' Pyrrha would most likely be found at her most recent memory, so that's where he was headed. There was just one problem; he had no idea how to get there. Again the scenery shifted, this time in accordance with Grey's intention to push onward. This time Pyrrha looked much closer to her current age, having donned the same armor Grey noticed her wearing when he first saved her. She was currently in one-on-one combat in some form of arena with countless spectators. Easily dispatching her opponent, the girl looked strangely conflicted at her victory.

"_And there you have it folks! The Invincible Girl is once again victorious!" the announcer bellowed. "Will the day ever come when she meets her match in battle?! I think not!"_

'_So determined was I to become strong enough to protect others, that I inadvertently isolated myself. I became untouchable, unapproachable."The Invincible Girl..." I hated that title. With my power I sought to protect those close to me, but I wound up having no one around me to protect.'_

'_What cruel irony...'_

Opening a door that formed in front of him, Grey found himself back in the halls of the school he was just fighting at, albeit fully intact this time. Pyrrha was walking down the hall with a number of other students, some of which he recognized. She looked so happy to be with her friends, although her smile became more demure when she gazed at the blonde boy next to her.

'_But at Beacon, I finally found a place where I could be happy!'_

Feeling drawn to a certain classroom, Grey entered the room and found himself back at the tower during Pyrrha's fight with Cinder.

"_Tell me, do you believe in destiny?"_

The arrow struck her chest and the world went black. Waiting for several moments Grey's surroundings returned once more, and this time he found that he was in the warehouse. He could hear the sound of someone sobbing coming from down the hall, which led to the same room he was currently in back in the real world. The door was only slightly ajar, thus Grey decided to gently open it so he didn't give the poor girl a scare. An audible creak accompanied the door opening, eliciting a gasp from Pyrrha as she raised her head to see who it was.

"Who...?" she uttered quietly as the Revenant stepped forward to greet her.

"Hey there." Grey spoke as he willed the mask he was wearing to dissipate.

Grey had hoped that removing his mask would help lessen the tension upon their meeting -what with her being able to see his whole face- though the unnatural way it happened only made things worse.

"Stay back!" Pyrrha shouted as she reached for where her weapon would normally be, only to grip at air.

"Hold up now!" Grey exclaimed as he held his hands up. "I ain't gonna hurt you or anything!"

"Who are you?! Are you some kind of reaper here for my soul?! What do you want?!"

"Calm down! One question at a time!" the Revenant responded as he tried to diffuse the situation. "Do you remember what just happened?"

The red-head froze at that, immediately recalling what had just happened to her. Her face paled. "I'm..."

"Dead, yes." Grey finished for her, mentally smacking himself for how callous he seemed to be, but he didn't exactly have the luxury of time. The only reason he was able to access Pyrrha's memory despite both being a human and being dead, was that the brain is still able to function for a short while following death. Once her brain activity fully ceases, then the world around him will completely collapse. "I tried my best to save, but I just wasn't fast enough. We managed to get you some medical attention, but it wasn't enough. I'm sorry."

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Pyrrha collapsed to the floor on her knees, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

Grey remained silent for several moments to allow the girl to come to terms with what happened. Scratching the back of his head, he tried to think of the best way to approach the topic he had in mind, while also being supportive to an obviously emotionally damaged girl. It didn't help that he lacked any form of experience in comforting those who found themselves in an undesirable situation. At least, not to this degree. Not even the various memories of others that he possesses would be of any help here.

Steeling his expression, Grey pulled over a nearby chair and sat down in it. "You think you're up for talking?"

Pyrrha wiped the tears from her eyes as she glanced up at Grey, his face currently a mask of indifference. "W-what do you mean?"

Grey's gaze locked with Pyrrha's own as he gestured for her to get up. "I already explained that I couldn't prevent you from dying, which is something I regret greatly. In my eyes you're still just a child by comparison to myself, and it bothers me that your life had to end so abruptly at such a young age. Although I accept that death is an inevitability for all of us, that doesn't mean I'm okay with it occurring so early in ones life. Because of my failure you are unable to experience all the wonders that life still has to offer. Growing up, falling in love, starting a family, and any great accomplishments you could have had have now been robbed from you."

Sitting back on the bed, Pyrrha nodded her head somberly. "I suppose that's true..." she conceded quietly. "My life finally started going the way I wanted it. All the hard work I put in paid off at last, but now it's all worthless..."

"... Do you regret it?"

Lifting her head up, the teen look at Grey with confusion. It was not a question she had been expecting so her mind went blank.

"Do you regret the life you lived?" he asked more clearly this time, thinking she didn't understand the question.

Thinking back on all her experiences, Pyrrha smiled fondly at the memories that she held dear to her. She recalled when she first dreamt of becoming a Huntress, the arduous training she put herself through to accomplish that goal, the friends she'd made along the way, and the blonde dork of a boy that she fell in love with. Pyrrha shook her head in the negative. "No. I do regret dying, but I don't regret the life I lived."

"Good." Grey responded with an incline of the head. "Though your life as a human has ended, you are satisfied with how you lived it."

Pyrrha raised a brow at the phrasing that Grey used. It didn't exactly sound right, so she felt the need to ask. "As a human? Why do you say it like that?"

The Revenant took a deep breath as he prepared to give Pyrrha the offer he came here for. "'The girl known as Pyrrha Nikos died on the operating table as a result of wounds she sustained while defending the city.' That is where your story ends, but it also allows for another to begin." he said with a serious tone. "As a human you are dead. However I can offer you a chance at a new life as something else entirely."

"A second chance?" Pyrrha spoke up with disbelief. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but it sounded like Grey had a method of bringing her back to life. "You can bring me back to life?!" she exclaimed for clarification.

"Yes," he answered.

The girl was moments away from crying tears of joy at the revelation, however Grey had yet to finish.

"but not as a human."

Pyrrha didn't need to ask another question, as her facial expression was more than enough for Grey to discern that she needed an explanation.

"If I bring you back, I cannot guarantee that you will be 'Pyrrha Nikos' again. In order to revive you, I must transform you into the same type of being that I am; a Revenant."

"Revenant?" she repeated in confusion.

"A Revenant is a near-immortal creature that is created when a special organism is implanted into someones heart, whether they be a corpse or still alive. The organism in question is known as the Bio Organic Regeneration Parasite, or BOR Parasite for short. The parasite grants its host a multitude of powers, with revival from death being the most prominent one. Naturally however, this comes at a great cost. While the parasite gives, it also takes. Your humanity, your memory, your soul, everything that made you _you _will be taken away and replaced as you become one with the parasite. I only came to understand this recently, but the BOR Parasite is a type of creature that belongs to the species you know as Grimm."

Eyes widened in horror as Pyrrha gasped, instantly shaken by the implications.

"If you choose to accept my offer, I will implant a BOR Parasite egg into your heart and you will essentially be reborn as a Grimm hybrid."

"Is... Is that the only way?" she asked nervously, her previous resolve having been shaken.

Grey nodded solemnly. "Yes. Once the parasite takes hold of you, your body will enter a comatose state while it alters your genetic composition. The process could take days, weeks, or even years to complete, and you will essentially be dead to the world until it is finished. And because the parasite must also reconstruct your brain, you run the risk of losing your memories." he remarked with a firm tone. "That is why I say that you will no longer be the person you once were. We have yet to determine the variable for those who retain their memories, so you might wake up with some, all of them, or none at all. My advice? Hold on to the memories that you treasure most and never let go."

Pyrrha's eyes seemed to dim, losing what little life was left as tears pooled in them once again. "So that's my only option?"

"You can either take my offer and be reborn as a Revenant, or die as a human and allow yourself to go wherever you believe waits for you in the afterlife." Grey clarified one last time. "I hate to have to pressure you with this choice, but time is running out for us to converse. Once your brain functions fully cease, this world will vanish and I will need to make the decision myself."

"... I'd much rather prefer being able to live as a human. To live a wonderful life alongside the friends I made. But that's not an option anymore."

Sighing, Grey ran a hand through his hair. This really wasn't his area of expertise. "I believe that we all deserve to choose our own fate, even if the choices available to us are not what we want them to be. Your death was not something I could prevent, so giving you this final chance to decide your fate is all I can do."

The lights in the sky began to flicker and fade into the darkness, signifying that time was running out.

Holding out his hand, Grey asked one last time. "What is your decision?"


End file.
